Attorneys are working on a plea deal for a former Thornton Fractional South High School teacher who stands accused of sexually assaulting two students.
Andre Richmond, 32, was charged Jan. 8 with criminal sexual assault and child pornography involving two high school students. His twin brother, Aaron Richmond, was also a teacher at Thornton Fractional South and pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student in April.
Daniel Hinich, who’s representing Andre Richmond, said as evidence discovery wraps up in the case, plea-deal negotiations with prosecutors are ongoing behind the scenes.
“Whatever it is, I’m just always willing to listen to an offer and convey it to my client,” Hinich said. “But ultimately, it’ll be up to him.”
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Hinich said a plea deal could be presented during Richmond’s next court hearing, scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 14 at the Markham Courthouse. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office would not comment beyond sharing the hearing date.
Prosecutors were working with alleged victims in the case to come up with terms of a potential agreement.
“The prosecutors always reach out to and take the victims into consideration when they work on any sort of plea deal,” Hinich said. “That’s part of standard procedure.”
Richmond met both of the students he allegedly abused in his geometry class, prosecutors said. The first victim, who was 16, reported abuse occurring between December 2021 and May 2022, after she and Richmond began messaging on social media.
Prosecutors said the online relationship between teacher and student evolved during the school’s winter break, with Richmond booking a room at the Red Roof Hotel in Lansing and taking the student there.
He met with the student about eight times, and on one occasion in April 2022 requested to record their session on the student’s phone via Snapchat to be sent to him, according to prosecutors. The student allegedly “made several outcries” while the abuse was ongoing, and investigators received the videos through a search warrant to Snapchat and from Richmond’s cellphone.
Richmond was also charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student in his classroom between March and June 2024. Prosecutors said he instructed the student not to tell anyone about the abuse “or her grades would suffer.”
A parent of the student also filed a lawsuit against Richmond and Thornton Fractional High School District 215, alleging the district previously investigated and suspended Richmond for similar behavior.
Richmond’s brother was charged in December 2024 with multiple counts of aggravated sexual abuse and aggravated sexual assault. He ultimately accepted a plea agreement that required he 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.
By the time Aaron Richmond pleaded guilty to the crimes in April, he had already spent 458 days in custody, which counts toward his total sentence.
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He agreed to register as a sex offender and refrain from contacting or going near the victim and several others involved in the case for life.