A former Thornton Fractional South High School teacher and wrestling coach will spend up to six years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to sexually assault of a 16-year-old student in March 2024.
Aaron Richmond, 32, is required to serve at least 85% of his six-year sentence as part of the plea agreement, as well as be evaluated under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act for potential civil commitment after prison. He has already spent 458 days in custody, which will count toward his total sentence.
He will also be registered as a sex offender and prohibited from contacting or coming near the victim and several others involved in the case for life.
Richmond was charged in December 2024 with multiple counts of aggravated sexual abuse and aggravated sexual assault. His twin brother, Andre Richmond, who also taught and coached wrestling in High School District 215, has pleaded not guilty to criminal sexual assault and aggravated sexual abuse involving two high school students.
Prosecutors said Aaron Richmond sexually assaulted a student after offering her a ride to a wrestling tournament in Springfield, bringing her to his home under the pretense he had to pack for the trip.
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While the student sat on Richmond’s couch, waiting for him to pack, Richmond allegedly went over to her and began to rub her shoulders and took off her shirt. Richmond then picked up the student and carried her to the bedroom, where he sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.
District 215 contacted the student’s mother after the student wrote a paper on inappropriate contact between staff and students, prosecutors said. After school staff investigated the paper, the student told a staff member about the assault by Aaron Richmond, prosecutors said. Her mother later found a picture the student accidentally took of herself while Richmond was assaulting her, they said.
The student later filed for an order of protection against Richmond, court records show, and three of the girl’s friends later told police she told them what had happened to her, prosecutors said.
Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Ondera said family members of the victim were watching Thursday’s court hearing remotely, as she read a statement prepared by the victim that addressed Richmond directly.
“What you did didn’t just hurt me in a single moment,” the victim said in the statement. “It unraveled pieces of my world that I’m still trying to put back together.”
The student said because of Richmond, she lost friends and moved away in the middle of her senior year of high school. She said she stopped participating in sports and school activities due to feeling unsafe around coaches and male authority figures.
“I watched my peers and family members celebrate milestones I had dreamed about while I was dealing with the trauma you forced upon me,” she said. “I was supposed to be finishing high school with excitement, joy and happiness. Instead, I was fighting through panic attacks, PTSD flashbacks and nightmares that still wake me up.”
The victim said she wanted Richmond to understand the depth of the harm his assault of her caused but also that she is choosing “to keep going, to heal.”
Richmond’s attorney, Steven Mondry, declined to comment Thursday.
District 215 began investigating Andre Richmond’s behavior toward students in January 2023 and Aaron Richmond’s behavior in May 2024, district records show. Both brothers resigned from District 215 in June 2024.
The next hearing in Andre Richmond’s case is scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 12, at the Cook County courthouse in Markham.
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