The Chicago Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve a $17.5 million settlement for a former student who was sexually abused by her former school administrator.
It is believed to be one of the largest settlements involving a sex abuse case in Illinois school history, according to sources familiar.
The former student, identified in her lawsuit as “Jane Doe,” sued Chicago Public Schools over the abuse she says she endured while she attended Little Village Lawndale High School several years ago.
Wednesday’s vote to approve the settlement will dismiss a lawsuit the former student brought last year against Chicago Public Schools.
Under the terms, the Chicago Board of Education “specifically denies that it is legally liable” and agreed to the settled to end what it called “costly litigation and to mitigate the financial risk to the Board and the taxpayers,” according to the terms reviewed by NBC 5 Investigates.
The board voted 14 to 0 to approve it shortly after 5 p.m. There was no discussion before or after the roll call vote. The board adjourned immediately afterwards.
The Board will pay $10 million of the settlement, and the remaining $7.5 million will be paid by insurance carriers, CPS said in a statement.
The woman, now in her 20s, alleged that, while she was still a student, she began a sexual relationship with her former dean of discipline, Brian Crowder, when she was just 15 years old and he was an administrator in the social justice school, one of four high schools that make up Little Village Lawndale High School.
Her attorneys called her case “egregious.”
“I just wasn’t like a normal high school student. Like, I just felt, like, different. I felt like I grew up, like, so much faster,” ‘Jane’ told NBC 5 Investigates during an April interview.
NBC 5 Investigates is not naming her because news outlets traditionally do not name sexual assault victims unless they choose to be identified.
“Obviously, we had a sexual relationship. At one point, I got pregnant the first time,” she said.
Court records show Crowder twice posed as “Jane’s” stepfather so that she could get two abortions while she was still in high school and underage.
A third, she says, happened after she stopped attending Little Village Lawndale High School.
During his criminal trial in July, prosecutors showed documents that Crowder’s cell phone number was on the abortion clinic’s records and that he called off from work at CPS on the same days the former student had the abortions.
“Jane” spoke to NBC 5 Investigates this spring as part of our “Lessons in Betrayal” series, which uncovered a culture of sexual misconduct inside Little Village Lawndale High School.
In our interview, “Jane” described a moment when she left ultrasound results on Crowder’s desk and later told him she wanted to keep the child.
“And when I said that, he just kind of like went crazy and spazzed out on me and it was all bad after that,” ‘Jane’ said. “And he’s like, you can’t do this to me, and we can’t have this baby. And you know, and so eventually he convinced me to have the abortion. And after that, it just was all bad.”
Crowder was one of several educators that NBC 5 Investigates reported on in that series.
An NBC 5 investigation found since 2017, at least seven educators have been fired or resigned from Little Village Lawndale High School while under investigation for sexual misconduct.
This summer, the CPS inspector general completed its three-year long investigation into the matter, which substantiated many of the allegations against the teachers.
The seven educators have all since been banned from working at CPS and the district has passed a series of policy changes aimed at better protecting students – and now recent graduates – from potential grooming, boundary violations or sexual abuse.
Crowder, the former dean of discipline at the social justice program within LVLHS, was the only one of the seven educators to be criminally charged and convicted. In most cases, the former students who came forward to NBC 5 Investigates alleged that their sexual encounters with the educators there happened after they turned 18 or in the days, weeks or months after they graduated.
Child advocates have argued to NBC 5 Investigates that there’s a gap in Illinois law, which still allows for teachers to have sex with students as long as their 18 and consent.
In Crowder’s case, he was charged and convicted this summer on four of seven charges he faced – including aggravated criminal sexual abuse and sexual assault. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison. His attorney has since appealed.
Chicago Public Schools responded to the settlement in a statement Wednesday, stating: “Chicago Public Schools (CPS) takes all reports of misconduct seriously, and the District remains committed to the safety and well-being of every student entrusted to our care. While the District denies any wrongdoing, we recognize the seriousness of the allegations in this matter and the impact the student has reported experiencing. After careful consideration, the District chose to resolve this case through a settlement in order to avoid the uncertainty, cost, and emotional toll of a trial for all involved. The District’s focus continues to be providing a safe learning environment and supporting our students, staff, and community.”
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