A former student who endured years of sexual abuse at the hands of a now-former administrator says she can now begin to “move on and heal” after reaching a landmark settlement with Chicago Public Schools worth $17.5 million.
It is believed to be the largest sex abuse settlement in Illinois school history.
“I can move on and heal in peace,” the former student we’ll call “Jane” told NBC 5 Investigates during an exclusive interview. “No amount of money can take my pain away, but I do feel like I can heal in peace now and finally turn the page.”
The woman, now in her 20s, sued CPS last year alleging that her former dean, Brian Crowder, at Little Village Lawndale High School had sexually abused her.
Crowder was convicted this summer of aggravated sexual abuse and sexual assault and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The settlement, approved Wednesday by the Chicago Board of Education, means the board will pay $10 million to the former student. Another $7.5 million will come from the district’s insurance carriers.
A CPS spokeswoman told NBC 5 Investigates through a statement that the district “denies wrongdoing” but agreed to settle the case to avoid “uncertainty, cost and the emotional toll” of a trial.
The board approved the settlement Wednesday with no discussion. They adjourned immediately afterwards.
When asked what the former student, now 27, would tell her younger self, she said:
“I would hug myself so hard and I would say that it was time for me to stick up for me and do the right thing for me and for others and not for the wrong person or the wrong reasons. You know, I’m very proud. It’s been a long journey,” she said.
The former student attended Little Village Lawndale High School in the mid-2010s.
What started with a Snapchat message, she said, morphed into a sexual relationship with Crowder while she was underage. Her outcries to another teacher, her attorneys said, went nowhere.
Court records show Crowder twice posed as her stepfather so she could get two abortions. A third happened after she left high school.
An NBC 5 investigation found since 2017 at least seven educators from Little Village Lawndale High School have resigned or been fired while under investigation for sexual misconduct.
The OIG substantiated many of those allegations raised in our reporting and banned the teachers from working at CPS.
The woman’s attorney, Bryce Hensley, said of the settlement: “The message that it sends is that children and their safety have to be the district’s number one priority.”
Child advocates say the settlement should send a message.
“First of all, I am absolutely heartbroken for what this young, young woman had to endure during her high school years and beyond. And in addition to that, I’m absolutely outraged that this pervasive behavior continues in our Illinois schools,” said Tania Haigh with the organization Kids Too.
Haigh said she want to see public-facing information on teachers who’ve been investigated for misconduct.