A federal lawsuit alleges officials at Richards High School and District 218 in Oak Lawn knew a girls volleyball coach had prior allegations against him when he allegedly sexually harassed a student, according to court records.
The lawsuit, filed by the girl’s parents in June, alleges district Superintendent Ty Harting and others “allowed and emboldened Raymond Van Syckle,” failed to protect the underage student and showed “willful and wanton neglect and reckless indifference.”
Van Syckle, 31, of Joliet, is accused of using his cellphone to covertly record images in the girls’ locker room at the school. He is charged with child pornography and unauthorized video recording of a minor.
District 218 spokesman Bob McParland declined to comment about the lawsuit.
The suit names Van Syckle individually, while Harting, current Richards Principal Mike Jacobson, former Richards Principal John Hallberg and Richards Athletic Director Ken Styler are named individually and in their official capacities. It also names the District 218 Board of Education.
Before Oct. 30, 2015, Van Syckle was reported to District 218 administrators for “engaging in inappropriate conduct with female students of a sexual nature,” according to the lawsuit. No action was taken against him despite the reports, the lawsuit said.
Instead, Van Syckle was put into other positions within the athletics program and given unsupervised access to female students, according to the lawsuit. Because of the new positions, he was granted “unfettered access” to locker rooms, showers and changing areas used by students.
Van Syckle was also the pool and equipment manager at the school, Harting previously said in an email.
The student identified as “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit was a student athlete and was in direct contact with Van Syckle, according to the lawsuit.
The design of the changing area allows the showers to be easily viewed through an observation window, according to the lawsuit.
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The lawsuit alleges District 218 officials knew the observation window presented a problem relative to the safety and privacy of female students. Before Oct. 30, 2015, a shower curtain was installed on the window that, according to the lawsuit, could easily be manipulated to have an unobstructed view of the girls’ locker room.
On Oct 30, 2015, Van Syckle told the female student that she needed to run an errand for him and called her out of the pool 10 minutes before the end of class, according to the lawsuit. He allegedly told the student that shower stalls and bathrooms were being chemically treated, leaving only the area directly across from the observation window for her to undress.
The girl noticed the curtain rod was bent and saw a recording device while getting undressed, according to the lawsuit. She ran away in terror and hid near an exit for the locker room, where she allegedly saw Van Syckle leave the entryway to the observation window, the lawsuit alleged.
The lawsuit states the girl was able to leave when another student came to her rescue, and that Van Syckle began yelling for the girl to complete his errand.
Hallberg and Jacobson questioned Van Syckle about the incident later that day and confiscated his iPhone, the lawsuit states.
Van Syckle had tried to erase any photos and video recordings from the phone, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit alleges district officials failed to immediately notify proper authorities including the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about the allegations of unauthorized recording.
The child was physically and emotionally traumatized and permanently affected by the sexual abuse, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the defendants.
Van Syckle currently is free on electronic home monitoring. He returns to court Sept. 7.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.