Woman sues Westchester, Illinois school district after former teacher charged with sexual abuse
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman who said she was groomed and sexually abused by her teacher and volleyball coach in west suburban Westchester more than two decades ago has now filed a lawsuit against the school district where it happened.
Former Westchester Middle School teacher Dawn Chester resigned after the girl's mother told the
school about the abuse, but she went on to teach at other Chicago area middle schools for more than two decades.
The now-37-year-old plaintiff, who does not want to be named publicly, told her legal team why she wanted to come forward after so many years. She said she saw the woman she accuses of abusing her working in another district, and went to the police.
"It's always the right time to come forward and speak up," said attorney David Rashid.
The victim said between 1998 and 2000, starting when she was 11 years old in the sixth grade at Westchester Middle School, Chester – who at the time went by Dawn Lach – was her volleyball coach and teacher.
In 1998, the victim participated in a school-sponsored overnight camp in Wisconsin, where Chester served as a chaperone. During the trip, Chester touched the victim inappropriately, the lawsuit alleged. Afterward, she would write unnecessary detentions for the victim, requiring them to spend time alone together before school, where Chester would make sexual contact with the victim, the lawsuit alleged.
The lawsuit claims Chester sexually abused the victim on several occasions on school grounds, including in Chester's classroom, the science lab, the locker room, and the school gym.
Chester also is accused of sending the victim letters complimenting her appearance and telling her to come see Chester alone in her classroom.
In undated letters, the lawsuit alleged, Chester wrote, among other things:
- "When I hear somebody call your name, I can feel my heart smile."
- "You didn't promise not to show the end-of-the-year note to anyone."
- "Sorry I made you mad. I cried. I really care about you. I know you have been keeping things from me, when I look into your eyes, I see sadness. You never tell me how you feel about me anymore. Find a few minutes and write down exactly how you feel about me."
- "Brat, I can tell you anything, right? I'm going to tell you my big secret I've been keeping from you. You may think I'm a real freak, decide you no longer like me at all, not to speak to me. Ask that you keep 'it' to yourself."
Chester kept writing the girl letters through seventh grade, regularly referring to the girl as "Brat," attorneys said.
In one letter on April 12, 2000, Chester allegedly wrote: "I'm having a hard time going full days without talking to you. I just feel like something is missing (any idea what it could be?)"
In another letter the same day, Chester allegedly wrote: "Dear Brat, I was not mad at you yesterday. People tease you because they believe you talk to me the most and I like you best. I think you are weird, but I accept that fact. I've noticed you like coming in mornings that you can spend with me."
In another dated April 20, 2000, Chester allegedly wrote: "You yelled at me. You need to work on controlling your anger. It seems like on days we don't talk, things go wrong." The letter also stated: "My phone was ringing. I know it was you. I have these 'funny' feelings that tell me you are thinking of me. You called and hung up on me. This is going to make me nuts. Are you saying I pushed you too far?"
The lawsuit quoted several other letters attorneys said Chester wrote to the girl around that same time.
The letters repeatedly emphasized that Chester needed to keep the girl's encounters with her a secret from the girl's family and peers, the lawsuit said.
Also in seventh grade, the volleyball team—on which the plaintiff played—went on a school-sanction sleepover with Chester along as the coach, the lawsuit said. During the sleepover, Chester had the girl lie with her on an air mattress while the other children slept in sleeping bags, the lawsuit said.
When the victim's mother discovered the letters, she reported them to the school district.
The lawsuit claims the school's legal team recommended that Chester should resign, which she did in August 2000. However, the woman's attorneys said the school district never alerted law enforcement or the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as required by law.
That allowed Chester, who has also gone by the names Dawn Lach and Dawn Anderson, to continue to work elsewhere as a teacher. The victim's attorneys said the Westchester School District "violated their position of trust."
The Westchester school superintendent also recalled being notified at the time about the air mattress incident by three different students and one parent—only for nothing to happen, attorneys said.
"What was owed was the protection to be a child, to go to school, to be protected, and that was owed by the Westchester Middle School, by the Westchester School District, and those in a position of authority, and they failed,". Rashid said.
The lawsuit said Chester was "subsequently hired by Berkeley School District 87 in Berkeley, Illinois, where she remained a teacher and coach for over 20 years."
In June of this year, the plaintiff figured out through social media that Chester was teaching at Northlake Middle School—part of the Berkeley district, attorneys said. The plaintiff reported Chester's alleged offenses to the school and authorities, and Chester was placed on administrative leave.
In August, Chester, now 54, was arrested—and she has been indicted by a grand jury on a felony charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under 18 by someone in a position of trust. She has pleaded not guilty.
CBS News Chicago reached Chester on Tuesday and was told she had no comment.
"I think any time you can hold somebody accountable for their actions is important—one year or 20 years later," Rashid said.
The woman hopes her lawsuit will encourage other possible victims to come forward.
"We know the pattern of behavior, and we know what our client endured," Rashid said, "and if there are other victims out there, we want them to know they're not alone. They have a voice, and we are happy to give that voice to them."
Westchester School District 92 ½ Supt. Philip Salemi said the district does not comment on pending litigation, but also shared that no current administrators were employed by the district at the time the alleged abuse happened. Salemi shared the statement he released after Chester was arrested in August:
Today, District Administration was contacted by the Westchester Police Department and informed of the arrest of Dawn Chester, who was employed as a science teacher at Westchester Middle School from 1993-2000. Please see the Police statement on this matter here. The District was initially contacted by the Police in late June of this year and informed that a former student had reported that she had been sexually abused more than 20 years ago as a 6th-7th grade student when Ms. Chester (originally hired as Ms. Anderson and later known as Ms. Lach) was her teacher and volleyball coach.
No current Westchester 92.5 administrators were employed at the District at that time. A review of Ms. Chester's personnel file indicates that the District was made aware of concerning written notes and email communications between the former teacher and student in 2000. Our records affirm that the District worked with the family to address their concerns, ultimately resulting in Ms. Chester's resignation in 2000.
The District has cooperated fully with the Westchester Police in their investigation of this matter. This included providing them copies of the notes and emails between the former teacher and student received as part of the family's original report to the District in 2000.
Despite the fact that these allegations relate to a report of incidents from more than 20 years ago, we felt it important to communicate with our families and staff about this matter directly. Furthermore, we want to emphasize that Westchester 92.5 is committed to protecting and ensuring the safety of our learning community and the well-being of our students. As a part of our pre-employment process, we conduct an employment history review, criminal background checks, and cross-checks with federal and state sexual offender databases. In addition, all faculty and staff participate in annual mandatory training regarding the parameters of appropriate conduct with students, as well as other topics related to maintaining a safe school environment. Each year, all District faculty and staff also affirm in writing their acknowledgment of a duty to report any suspicions or knowledge of abuse or neglect of a student.
There is no record that Westchester 92.5 was contacted by any prospective employer of, or provided an employment reference, for Ms. Chester. The current Illinois School Code provides additional protections that require a school district to report to the State Superintendent of Education and the applicable regional superintendent of schools any teacher of whom there is reasonable cause to believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect, or an act of sexual misconduct, involving a minor child, that resulted in the teacher's dismissal or resignation from the school district. Such reporting can result in the revocation of a teaching license. No such requirement was in place in 2000.
Please feel free to contact me at psalemi@sd925.org or 708-670-1927 if you have questions or concerns about Westchester 92.5 or our handling of such matters. If you have information relevant to the investigation, please contact the Westchester Police Department at 708-345-0060 or email investigations@westchester-il.gov.
As always, we thank you for your support of Westchester School District 92.5 and our students.
Berkeley School District 87 Supt. Dan Sullivan also released a statement:
Ms. Chester continues to be on indefinite administrative leave.
Ms. Chester was placed on administrative leave immediately following contact by the Westchester Police Department notifying the District that Ms. Chester was the subject of a pending investigation concerning her alleged conduct which occurred prior to her employment at District 87. The District was notified by the Westchester Police Department that criminal charges had been filed against Ms. Chester as a result of their investigation.
The District is fully cooperating with the Westchester Police Department and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in order to facilitate a thorough investigation, and we are continuing our own review of this matter.