CPS settles lawsuit for $2 million after ex-gym teacher accused of sexually abusing 3 boys
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A $2 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit accusing a former Chicago Public Schools gym teacher of sexually abusing three boys for years.
The federal lawsuit filed last year accused former Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School gym teacher Andrew Castro of sexually abusing three boys for years between 2018 and 2021, when the boys were between 10 and 12 years old.
Two of the boys are brothers and the third is their cousin.
Castro met them while working at Lorca Elementary in Avondale. The boys' family sued the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Board of Education for failing to protect them from the abuse. That lawsuit has now been settled for $2 million.
The family said no one from the school warned them about Castro being suspended because of inappropriate sexual behavior with another student.
According to the lawsuit, after spending months watching them play soccer, taking them out to lunch, buying them gifts, and inviting them to his home, he began sexually abusing the boys in late 2018, but the boys didn't tell their parents because they were embarrassed and didn't want to get Castro in trouble. Castro later started hosting the boys at sleepovers, sometimes sleeping in the same bed as the boys.
The abuse continued through 2021, even after Castro left the school following an allegation of inappropriate behavior with another student.
The lawsuit claims the boys' parents did not stop the boys from having contact with Castro, because no one from the school warned them that he had been suspended because of inappropriate sexual behavior, and might be a sexual predator.
In May of 2023, one of the boy's parents discovered he was cutting himself, and the boy told his sister Castro had raped him multiple times. When the parents reported Castro to police, they learned he had four prior complaints of sexual abuse.
"We hold no illusions that this case alone will bring about sweeping changes to the broken CPS system – a system so fundamentally broken that it dements complete overall – but we hope this case sends a powerful message to others who may be suffering in silence: you are not alone. We are here to help," said the victims' attorney, Patrycja Karlin.
In June 2023, Castro was charged with predatory criminal sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a child in Cook County. He was later indicted in multiple cases, and is awaiting trial.
In a statement, CPS officials said, "Our system continually works to educate leaders, faculty and students about sexual abuse and how to report it."