Accuser 'Exasperated' By Outcome Of D161 Teacher Sex Abuse Probe

FLOSSMOOR, IL — A woman who alleged she was sexually abused by a Flossmoor District 161 teacher as a child told Patch Thursday she was frustrated by the conclusions of the district's internal investigation.

The woman—whose identity Patch will not disclose—said she is disappointed in the district's finding that her claims were unfounded, and in the possibility of the teacher returning to work in the district.

"Exasperated and overwhelmed is an understatement for how I'm feeling right now," the woman, now 19, told Patch. "My priority always has been and will be the safety of vulnerable children. I feel the decision District 161 has made does not properly prioritize the children they should be protecting, and I am enraged at the irresponsibility of their actions."

The former Western Avenue Elementary student accused her then-teacher of incidents of sexual assault alleged to have occurred over several years, more than 10 years ago. The student came forward with the allegations in September 2021, and the teacher was placed on paid administrative leave in October 2021.

In September 2022 after months of investigation by the Cook County State's Attorney's Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Division, the State's Attorney said that the teacher would not face criminal charges. Patch will not disclose the teacher's identity, as no criminal charges have been filed.

Prior to the case being handed over to the state's attorney, the Flossmoor Police Department launched its own investigation into the allegations. Once in the state's attorney's hands, the case was closed in November 2021, but re-opened a month later, according to a report from the Southland Investigative Reporting Center. The district also then opened an independent, internal investigation in December 2021.

District officials this week said they had concluded their investigation and, more than a year after the Cook County State's Attorney decided not to pursue criminal charges, district officials had determined the complaint unfounded.

Officials said they would then meet with the faculty member to discuss a possible return to teaching within the district.

With the news was issued to district families, the accuser and her family spoke with Patch Thursday.

"I am extremely disappointed with the lack of transparency from School District 161," said the woman's mother, alleging the district has not been forthcoming about the comlpaint since October 2021.

"I'm truly disappointed that they're not looking out for the vulnerable children," the woman's mother said. "This is exactly why victims don't come forward ... because they're going to believe a teacher who said, 'No, I didn't do anything' over a child who has gone through tremendous heartbreaking agony, to have to tell her story, and re-tell her story, and tell her story again, and all for it to not be believed."

The mother went on to say that it "is not even logical" that officials would take a teacher's word over a student's.

The family is now discussing next steps with their attorney, the woman's mother said.

"The one thing that I want to be heard loud and clear in the community—I want them to know how hard and diligently we have worked to protect the children in District 161, by my daughter, who is so brave, by telling her account of everything that happened, over and over again," the woman's mother said. "I don't want another parent or another child to have to go through what she went through, and what our family has gone through, because of this."

The woman's mother said she was disappointed that the district had not contacted the detectives who had worked with the woman throughout her allegations. The detectives, she said, told them they stand behind their assertion that there had been enough probable cause to warrant charges.

"We're talking about children, children's lives," the woman's mother said. "This is something that needs to be taken very seriously."

The woman's father also provided a statement to Patch.

"I'm so proud of my brave daughter to have stood up and taken down the sexual predator single-handedly, unlike the adults placed in charge to protect our youth," the statement read. "My daughter is a true hero for speaking out, and for using her voice. She likely prevented untold numbers of children's lives from being ruined by this man...."

In her victim impact statement, the woman deflected praise of her actions.

"I hope others will speak up for those who weren't given a voice, or whose voice was not strong enough after it was stolen," the woman wrote in her statement. "And that 'stop' and 'no' will ring loud and clear to my perpetrator, all perpetrators, and the institutions that protect these individuals rather than victims.

I've been haunted by 'our little secret' for so long, and it seems as if those in authority who heard of this secret would rather keep it a secret. I often hear people tell me I'm brave, but I'm not. I'm just a child who was traumatized. What happened to me didn't make me a better person or make me stronger, what happened to me should have never ever happened."