Mother sues Flossmoor school after daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted in class: court docs
FLOSSMOOR, Ill. - A lawsuit was filed Monday after a student at a suburban Chicago high school alleged that she was sexually assaulted on campus in October.
The lawsuit claims on Oct. 31 a female student, who is a minor, was raped by another student just before 9 a.m. during theater class.
Jessica Johnson, the mother of the victim, filed the suit against the Board of Education of Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233 on behalf of her daughter.
Johnson told FOX 32 News in October that it took school leaders more than an hour to release her daughter so that a family member could rush her to a local hospital.
The victim's mother also said there was surveillance footage before the incident showing the boy following her into a room.
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"The camera's not on the inside, the camera only catches them walking in. She said that he was trying to touch her. She kept slapping his hands, telling him ‘no, I don't like you like that. No’. And he grabbed her and slammed her on the floor, raped her and to the point where she was crying, and he was laughing," Johnson told FOX 32.
Following the incident the school released a statement saying the school is fully cooperating with the law enforcement investigation.
Students staged a walkout on Nov. 3 following the sexual assault allegations.
The alleged attack came months after hundreds of students staged a walkout at the same school over more allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
Illinois’ law allows for victims to proceed anonymously, however a press release from the victim's lawyers says Johnson and her daughter have chosen to be named in the lawsuit in hopes "to bring to light the culture of sexual and physical violence and to break the code of silence that has plagued Homewood Flossmoor High School District 233."
The full complaint is attached below.
The superintendent, Dr. Scott Wakeley, released the following statement Wednesday afternoon:
"The school district is aware of the complaint filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court. We are reviewing the allegations with counsel and preparing to respond. 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."