Education

CPS Board Approves $17.5M Settlement With Ex-Student Who Was Sexually Abused by School Staffer for Years

Chicago’s Board of Education has approved a whopping $17.5 million payment to settle a lawsuit brought by a former Little Village student who was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a school official for years.

The 14 members of the board present at Wednesday’s agenda review meeting all voted in favor of the settlement, following a lawsuit brought last year by an ex-Chicago Public Schools student who claimed she was repeatedly victimized while underage by Brian Crowder, the former dean of students at the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice.

Crowder was arrested and charged with criminal sexual assault in 2022. He was convicted earlier this year and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

A CPS spokesperson said that although the district denies any wrongdoing, “we recognize the seriousness of the allegations in this matter and the impact the student has reported experiencing.”

“Chicago Public Schools takes all reports of misconduct seriously, and the District remains committed to the safety and well-being of every student entrusted to our care,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “After careful consideration, the District chose to resolve this case through a settlement in order to avoid the uncertainty, cost, and emotional toll of a trial for all involved. The District’s focus continues to be providing a safe learning environment and supporting our students, staff, and community.”

According to Wednesday’s agenda, the board would cover $10 million, while its insurance carriers would handle the remaining $7.5 million in the proposed settlement.

That $10 million payment would nearly top the combined total of all CPS sexual misconduct settlements over the past four years, according to a WTTW News analysis of district records.

Since 2022, CPS has spent $13 million in total to resolve all sexual misconduct cases, including $8.12 million for incidents involving employee-on-student abuse.

Following Crowder’s arrest in 2022, Cook County prosecutors said he worked at the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice and began messaging a 15-year-old student at the school over Snapchat in 2013.

Prosecutors said Crowder and the girl had sexual intercourse five to six times per month from that summer until the summer of 2015. During that time, in 2014, the girl became pregnant, and Crowder allegedly posed as her stepfather so he could sign a consent form and pay for her to get an abortion.

This allegedly occurred a second time in 2015, when the girl was a senior in high school. She eventually told a teacher what had been happening, and while that teacher encouraged her to report the abuse, she did not do so at that time, according to prosecutors.

The abuse ended in 2015, but Crowder eventually reached out to the victim again in 2019, and when she didn’t respond, he allegedly found out where she was working and called again at her place of employment.

The victim eventually told a friend about the abuse that same year, and filed a report with the Chicago Police Department in September 2021. Shortly after she did so, Crowder allegedly texted her saying “Goodbye forever.”

According to the victim’s lawsuit, many faculty, staff and administrators at the school would joke about a romantic interest between the pair because of how much time was spent alone between Crowder and the victim in Crowder’s office.

“The silence and inaction of CPS, by and through its administration, faculty, staff, and other agents, facilitated Brian Crowder’s grooming and exploitation of Jane Doe, a student in their care, for the duration of her time as a student at LVLHS from 2012-2016,” the victim’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.

Jared Rutecki contributed to this report.

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