Homewood-Flossmoor High School outside Chicago settles with student who said she was assaulted at school
Homewood-Flossmoor High School has agreed to pay $3.5 million to a former student who said she was sexually assaulted by another student at the school.
The teen said the attack happened back in 2022. The then-17-year-old victim said she was sexually assaulted in a first-period theatre class at the school on Oct. 31 of that year when she was paired with a young man to rehearse some lines, her mother told CBS News Chicago the day of the incident.
The two went off into a section away from other students – and the girl's mother said the boy violated her daughter when they were alone.
A lawsuit filed by the girl's family said the male student accused of the assault had shown an unwanted and inappropriate sexual interest in the girl that he "openly manifested" during the school day. Among the things he did was change seats to sit next to the girl, place his arms around her, and try to kiss her and touch her in other inappropriate ways, the lawsuit alleged. The lawsuit said the school and teacher failed to intervene when this was happening – even when it happened in front of the teacher.
The girl had been repeatedly rejecting the boy's advances – saying she was in a relationship with someone else and was not interested, the lawsuit said.
On Oct. 31, during the theatre class, the girl and boy were sent to a private dressing room or practice room to rehearse lines together, the lawsuit said. In the room, the boy displayed a knife and began touching her over her protests, and then restrained her and forcibly sexually assaulted her, the lawsuit alleged.
The incident led to numerous walkouts.
The settlement does not admit wrongdoing.
