Creepy Chemistry Teacher Sued By Student He Sexually Abused

A Plainfield Central High School student who was sexually abused by her chemistry teacher has sued him, the school and the school district.

The student, who is now 18, was abused in February 2015 by former teacher Brian Smith. Smith, 34, pleaded guilty in January and is serving four years at Robinson Correctional Center.

Following Smith’s arrest last year, prosecutors detailed how he laid the groundwork for his eventual abuse of the teen. Smith first contacted her through a website called Whisper and claimed to be someone named “Andy.” He then asked his student, “Do you think Mr. Smith is sexy?” and “Do you know how to get a better grade in Mr. Smith’s class?”

Smith, a graduate of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, and the student then began communicating through the instant messaging application Kik. The married father of three sent her a picture of his penis, a prosecutor said, and in return she sent him photographs of herself showering.

Smith, who was living in Joliet at the time, then began filling in or changing the answers on the teen’s assignments and on a test. After the test, the teen followed him into a supply closet and performed oral sex on him, a prosecutor said, and she cried when Smith was finished. The teen later explained she was afraid Smith would fail her if she did not perform the sex act, the prosecutor said.

The teen’s lawsuit said Smith took her “to a storage locker, grabbed her by the throat, and forced her to have oral sex,” and that after his arrest, “two more minors came forward, admitting that (Smith) sexually abused them as well.”

The teen has been subjected to “shame” and “ridicule from other students,” the suit said, and is “having trouble returning to Plainfield Central High School, which is adversely impacting her education.”
She also attempted suicide the month after she was abused by Smith and was admitted to a mental health facility in Aurora.