A junior at Homewood-Flossmoor High School claims that a student at the school who allegedly raped her in the Flossmoor school at the end of October had been harassing and making sexual advances toward her for some weeks before the assault, according to a lawsuit.
The complaint was filed Monday on behalf of the student in Cook County Circuit Court, and alleges that school officials failed in their duty to protect the 17-year-old from an assault that allegedly took place during a morning theater class Oct. 31.
The lawsuit alleges that the male student and the victim were instructed to rehearse lines alone in a practice room when he “slammed her onto a table” then “forcibly, sexually assaulted her.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000, and the school district’s superintendent, Scott Wakeley, said the district is reviewing the allegations and preparing a court response.
“We deny the allegations set out in the complaint and we will assert a vigorous defense on behalf of the district itself and its employees,” he said in an email.
Flossmoor police were called to the school the day of the alleged assault and took a male student into custody before returning him to his family.
An update as to whether the investigation is ongoing or whether charges have been filed was not available from police Wednesday.
Stephanie White, an attorney for the girl and her family, said she was not aware of charges having been filed but was told the male student had been instructed to stay away from the school campus.
She said the girl has been taking classes remotely, and was unsure when the girl might return to school.
“She’s trying her best to cope,” White said Wednesday. “This is pretty traumatic for her.”
The attorney said her client would have a difficult time returning to school at this point.
“She can’t be in the environment,” White said.
The lawsuit alleges the male student had displayed knives in front of other students and had, for some weeks, “demonstrated an unwanted and inappropriate sexual interest” toward the plaintiff, who had “openly and repeatedly rejected” his advances.
The girl pushed the male student away and told him she was involved with a relationship with someone else, according to the lawsuit.
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On Oct. 31, the lawsuit alleges the female student and her alleged assailant were part of a larger group of theater students who were told to pair-up and retreat to private rooms to rehearse lines for an upcoming production.
Students who were sequestered were told to return to the main classroom area in 15 minutes, but it was during this span that the female student was assaulted, according to the lawsuit.
In that practice room, the male student “began to touch (the female student) in an unwanted sexual manner,” and the girl pulled away and told him to stop, according to the lawsuit.
The advances by the male student toward the girl had been occurring since early October and most of the advances had taken place during theater class, White said.
The girl had not reported the advances to school officials, but, the day of the Oct. 31 assault, had confessed to a fellow classmate about what happened, according to the attorney.
The student was interviewed by a school nurse and the girl’s family was notified.
According to the lawsuit, the girl’s mother received word about the assault but that upon arriving at the school had to wait 90 minutes before seeing her daughter.
A few days after the alleged assault, hundreds of Homewood-Flossmoor students walked out of class in protest in what some said was indifference by school administration to prior student complaints about sexual assault and sexual harassment.
The district said that, after the alleged assault, some 85 students gathered after school to talk with social workers, school counselors and school psychologists.
Topics that were covered included relationships with school staff to build a sense of safety as well as district safety measures and enforcement of them, according to the district.
At the Nov. 3 protest, one student said he had been invited to join a student ambassador program to address those issues.
Aaron McIntyre, a 17-year-old senior, said at the walkout that students had previously been told they would have more input in policymaking and addressing concerns, but that it had not yet happened.