A former Chicago Public Schools dean was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing a student at a West Side high school.
Brian Crowder, 43, was convicted last month on four of the seven counts he faced, including aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor.
Crowder was working as the dean of students at the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice when the abuse began more than a decade ago.
He started messaging the student, who was between 15 and 17 years old when the abuse occurred, via social media and later brought her to his home.
The student became pregnant twice and Crowder posed as her stepfather when he brought her to get an abortion, prosecutors said.
Crowder was removed from his position at the school in 2021 after the student filed a police report.
The student, now a 24-year-old woman, has also filed a civil suit against Crowder and Chicago Public Schools.
Crowder pleaded guilty last year to one count of sexual abuse in exchange for prosecutors dropping the six other counts, but the agreement fell apart when prosecutors said he would need to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Judge Stanley Sacks sentenced Crowder to 12 years for aggravated criminal sexual assault and bodily harm, and five years each for criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Crowder had faced a possible sentence of 14 to 60 years in prison.