A month after alleged attack of girl at Evanston school, 'devastated' family demands answers from police

EVANSTON, Ill. - A lawyer is demanding police release a suspect’s name a month after a 12-year-old girl reported that she was attacked at an Evanston middle school.

Evanston police said Tuesday they are investigating an allegation that a 7th-grader was sexually assaulted by a custodian in the girl’s restroom at Haven Middle School, 2417 Prairie Ave.

The alleged attack happened during the school day on Oct. 4, police said. No one has been charged or arrested in the case.

In October, school officials from Evanston-Skokie School District 65 told parents in an email that they received a report that a staff member engaged in inappropriate conduct toward a student during school hours. They said the staff member was put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

On Tuesday, an attorney for the 12-year-old girl released a letter from her parents to the chief of Evanston police, the mayor of Evanston and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office asking why no one had been charged in the incident.

“We don’t understand why it has taken so long for the Evanston Police to take action,” the letter states. “ … Our family is devastated and shaken to the core.”

In the letter, the parents also demand to know the identity of the suspect, who they claim was a school custodian. The letter states the girl has been interviewed by Evanston police, and that she identified the alleged attacker in a photo lineup and submitted a rape kit at a hospital.

“The family deserved answers from Evanston police,” family attorney Andrew Stroth told the Sun-Times.

Evanston police spokesman Ryan Glew said the department cannot comment on the active investigation. He said that investigations such as these are “complicated” and require time.

Messages seeking comment from Evanston Mayor Stephen Hagerty and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office went unanswered.

School officials and a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services did not immediately reply to requests for comment.