$3.5M Settlement In Former HFHS Student's Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against District

FLOSSMOOR, IL — A former Homewood-Flossmoor High School student will receive $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed after she was sexually assaulted on campus, and the circumstances surrounding the incident, her attorney said Tuesday.

Amayah Blair was 17 and a junior at the school in October 2022, when she alleged that a male student sexually assaulted her during their theater class, an act that followed previous harassment and threats made by the teen boy, Patch previously reported.

The lawsuit—which directly named Principal Dr. Clinton Alexander and Theatre Director Deena Cassady—said the school neglected and failed the victim by not stopping the alleged harassment, and allowing the students in a room alone together, without supervision. During the time they were alone, the male student threatened the female student with a knife before sexually assaulting her, according to the lawsuit filed in December 2022.

The lawsuit specifically references the circumstances leading up to and including the sexual assault, and the staff's responsibilities surrounding it.

For weeks before the incident, the male student had "demonstrated an unwanted and inappropriate sexual interest in and attraction toward" Blair, expressed through moving his seat to be near her in classes, putting his arms around her, "attempting to touch, hug, and/or 'pat down' the female student in a sexually inappropriately way; and attempting to kiss her," the lawsuit alleged.

Following Blair's allegation in October 2022, her mother Jessica Johnson publicly criticized the school's response, saying they had mischaracterized the incident.

"The District publicly characterized this as an allegation of assault," she said. "Be there no mistake, my daughter was sexually assaulted and raped during her theater class."

Flossmoor police at the time told Patch that a male student was taken into custody, then later released to his father. The suit alleges that prior to the incident, the male student brought two knives into the school, reportedly flashing one the day of the incident while in the presence of other students and school staff. The male student used the same knife when alone with the victim in the moments leading up to the sexual assault, the lawsuit alleges. Police reportedly found two knives in the student's possession following a search, the suit stated.

After Blair's allegation surfaced, students staged a walk-out, protesting against the school's response to the allegation. Hundreds of students took to Kedzie Avenue to express their frustration with the school's response, decrying a lack of transparency and accountability on the district's part.

According to the lawsuit, school administrators "intentionally failed to enforce its policies and procedures regarding student safety, bullying, intimidation, harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual violence," creating a "code of silence among the student body where students, including [the female accuser], were afraid to come forward and report the sexual violence being perpetrated against them out of fear of retribution by their perpetrators due to the [District's] refusal to act for the victim’s protection."

The lawsuit also rebuked the administration's handling of the situation, saying that Johnson had been notified of the assault, but then administrators kept the mother and daughter in separate rooms at the school once Johnson arrived.

"Throughout the course of the litigation, the culture of sexual and physical violence at the School, including several highly publicized student walk-outs, was exposed and the code of silence within the District has been broken," attorney Stephanie White said in a release Monday.

In a statement Tuesday, Homewood-Flossmoor District 233 said that the settlement was reached "in the best interest of the district, to preserve district resources for student initiatives and programming.

"Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School’s insurance carrier entered into a settlement agreement on behalf of the district to resolve a lawsuit brought by a former female student," the statement issued by Director of Communications & Community Engagement Carla Erdey reads. "The case involved claims by the student that the school district should have anticipated and/or prevented an alleged sexual assault of the student by another male student in October of 2022.

The settlement, the statement said, does not admit any wrongdoing or fault by the school district or its staff.

"... We continue to believe that our administration, teachers and staff responded swiftly and appropriately and in the best interests of the students. We also cooperated fully with the authorities investigating the matter."

Officials also stressed that the settlement is through the district's insurance carrier, and costs associated with the district’s legal defense and settlement will be paid by the carrier, and not from district funds.

In a letter to district families released Monday and signed by the District 233 Board of Education, administrators said "the lawsuit here was not about whether the female student was sexually assaulted," and "only the two students involved know what actually occurred."

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office ultimately declined to prosecute the male student, the Board said. White said that followed a lack of cooperation on his part and that of his father.

The statement went on to defend the District's handling of the incident.

"... the lawsuit involved the legal questions of whether the district could have anticipated and/or prevented the situation, as well as whether it acted reasonably and appropriately based on the information it had at the time," the letter reads. "From the beginning, the district handled this very delicate and challenging situation with the utmost care. Immediately upon learning of the allegation, our administration contacted the Flossmoor Police Department, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and the parents involved — within just 11 minutes of being made aware of the allegation. Law enforcement quickly responded and then took over the investigation. Throughout, the district acted with care, urgency, and in accordance with its legal responsibilities. We invest heavily in resources, personnel, training, policies and technology to ensure the safety of every student within our school, and we will continue to do so."

The District went on to disclose how the mother and daughter would use the settlement funds.

The District had agreed to the pre-trial settlement, it said, because "if the school district had chosen to go against the insurance carrier’s decision to settle and had chosen to continue the litigation, district funds would have been required to pay legal fees and any judgment."

Additionally, the letter reads, going to trial presented its own risks.

"There were a number of unexpected, highly questionable and unfavorable pre-trial rulings that adversely impacted our counsel’s ability to present a robust defense at trial," the Board said. "Cook County juries are very unpredictable and are known for giving out very large financial judgments at trial.

"The Board’s fiduciary responsibility is to protect the district and its resources and avoid prolonged litigation that could take away from the school’s ability to pursue its core mission. Ultimately, the Board determined that under the circumstances, a settlement was in the best interests of the school and its students and staff.

"... The Board continues to believe that our administrators, teachers, and staff responded swiftly and appropriately in the best interests of all the students involved in this situation...."

Johnson and Blair found the letter insensitive, saying it shows a continued lack of accountability on the District's part.

"Honestly, still a little frustrated," said Blair, now 19, on how she's feeling about the settlement. "I feel relieved that it’s over, but at the same time it doesn’t too much feel like it. I’m not able to heal from it, when accountability still isn’t being taken."

Johnson said she shares her daughter's sentiment, but is disappointed in the District's messaging to parents earlier this week.

"Part of me feels relieved that we are not forced to continue to relive this day in front of people who refuse to take accountability over and over again," Johnson said. "

"That scratches at the wounds, and feels like—the fight still continues," she said. "What good is the settlement, if there is still no accountability."

Blair said she hopes to be able to move forward after enduring the impact on her mental health and social anxiety.

"Everything was very frustrating," she said. "It was hard to try to work, go out and try to live my life."

She's hoping now to not be "scared of every person in the room."

Johnson, though, said she is concerned about her family's safety, after the letter from the District disclosed previously private details.

"... Now having to zone in our safety," she said. "I feel like it’s being played with at this point.

"Not accepting fault, not taking accountability—it makes a little difficult to look at future-forward."

White said she hopes the District will make more effort to educate and train its staff.

"Either you become part of the solution," she said, "or you’re a part of the problem."

Johnson, who unabashedly advocated for her daughter from the start, said the school's letter again stirred something in her.

"I feel like walking away from this, is walking away from a continuous problem," Johnson said. "Stay tuned there."