The family of a Homewood-Flossmoor student who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a fellow student Monday at the school is contemplating legal action as the 17-year-old girl remains out of school while a police investigation continues, the family’s attorney said Wednesday.
The girl, a junior at the Flossmoor school, was hospitalized for several hours after the alleged attack which took place as students in a theater class were paired up to rehearse lines, but has been traumatized by the event, attorney Stephanie White said.
“It’s going to be a long road for her,” White said.
She said a student protest is planned for Thursday afternoon at the school, 999 Kedzie Ave., similar to walkouts in March by students concerned about sexual harassment at the school.
White said the alleged assault occurred sometime between 7:30 a.m.and 8:20 a.m. Monday during a theater class. She said the girl does not know her alleged attacker.
“It’s not a friend of hers,” White said.
White said the girl later Monday morning confided in a friend what had happened, and was initially seen by the school’s nurse. The attorney said she was not aware at this point of any witnesses.
In a statement released by the attorney’s office, the girl’s mother said the district waited for more than an hour after the alleged assault to report it to her family and that, when they arrived at the school, it was at least an hour before the girl was released to them.
The girl was taken to the hospital and released Monday evening, White said.
The girl’s mother, in the statement, said her daughter was “victimized during class over a period of about 20 minutes. During that time, she was crying. No one came to her assistance.”
Nobody at the school “did anything to protect her from this horrific, life changing event,” according to the statement.
Homewood-Flossmoor District 233 officials said they are working to convene a meeting of parents and administrators to discuss the matter.
Flossmoor police said they were called to the school Monday morning and were told a female student reported she was assaulted in the building earlier that day.
Police took the male student to the police station, but he was then released to the custody of his father while the investigation continues, police said.
White said the girl’s family is contemplating legal action, but that “we want to be respectful and patient with the criminal process.”
White said bodily fluid and clothing samples were taken from the girl as part of the investigation, but said she was unsure whether that occurred at the school or hospital.
She said, as a prelude to possible litigation, she asked the district to preserve any evidence related including potential witness statements and any in-school video surveillance images.
The girl’s mother, in the statement, said her daughter was not properly supervised by District 233 staff.
“We are calling on Homewood Flossmoor School District 233 to publicly acknowledge that my daughter was sexually assaulted and raped while she was on their premises during one of their classes, and that they must properly define this problem to become part of the solution,” the mother said in the statement. “Our children need to be properly supervised and protected by professional educators.”
District 233 said 85 students gathered after school Thursday 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.