13 Sunset Ridge Staffers Sue Company That Hired Accused Custodian

CHICAGO — A group of staff members at the Northfield school where a cellphone was discovered hidden in a bathroom last month have sued the company that hired the custodian accused of planting the camera.

Thirteen women who work at Sunset Ridge School filed the suit anonymously Monday in Cook County Circuit Court against custodial services contractor Smith Maintenance Company over its hiring and supervision of David Garcia-Espinal.

Their two-count complaint alleges Smith was negligent in hiring and employing Garcia-Espinal. Despite multiple previous accusations of public bathroom-related misconduct and a 2012 felony conviction for possession of fraudulent identification, Smith hired Garcia-Espinal in July 2016 and assigned him to work at the Sunset Ridge District 29 elementary school, according to police and school officials.

"Smith knew of Garcia-Espinal's criminal history and chose to ignore it when it allowed Garcia to work at the Sunset Ridge elementary school," the suit says. "Alternatively, [the company] failed to perform a background check on Garcia-Espinal, or performed a negligent background check on Garcia-Espinal."

Representatives of the company, which has provided custodian services to the district since 2008, have not responded to messages seeking comment about its background checks. According to its website, it employs more than 250 people in the Chicago area.

Garcia-Espinal, 41, of Highwood, has eluded authorities since a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 17, three days after a staff member at Sunset Ridge School found the cellphone taped to the inside of a trash can in a bathroom designated for use by employees.

The trash can was placed in multiple bathrooms for months, according to the suit, which blames Smith for allowing him to place "unnecessary trash cans" in staff bathrooms. The complaint alleges the illicit recordings led to "great mental anguish, humiliation, and loss of a normal life," for the 13 staffers who filed the suit under the name "Jane Doe."

Another teacher filed a "Jane Doe" lawsuit last week against Garcia-Espinal, Smith and OrganicLife LLC, the food service provider that first hired Garcia-Espinal in August 2015 and assigned him to Sunset Ridge. Neither suit named the district as a defendant.

Related:
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