South Cook News

A Homewood-Flossmoor High School student is suing the school she says where she was sexually assaulted after being placed in an unsupervised room with a dangerous student. 

The mother of the girl - a 17-year-old junior - said the school has done nothing about the incident. 

"The District publicly characterized this as an allegation of assault," she said in a statement. 

"Be there no mistake, my daughter was sexually assaulted and raped during her theater class.” 

"During that time, she was crying. No one came to her assistance. No staff or professional educator did anything to protect her from this horrific, life-changing event.” 

"Problems of this nature have continued to plague Homewood-Flossmoor Community School District 233. It has happened again.” 

"The first step to correcting the ongoing problems of this nature in District 233 is to acknowledge the problem. The problem is sexual assault and harassment of students at the school and the professional educators’ responsibility to prevent it. Either you choose to be part of the problem or part of the solution.” 

The lawsuit seeks at least $50,000 in damages. Its named defendants are the Board of Education of Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District 233, Homewood-Flossmoor High School principal Clinton Alexander and theatre teacher Deena Cassidy. 

The lawsuit notes the girl’s theater teacher, Cassidy, relegated her and the boy to a space with no windows or any other way to view the pair. When the two were behind closed doors, the girl said the boy produced a knife - something he was known to have on campus - and threatened her before restraining and sexually assaulting her. 

The aggressor had been noted for allegedly threatening behavior, including brandishing the knife during class and had reportedly previously been sexually aggressive towards the victim. The incident lasted 20 minutes according to the lawsuit. The victim reported to the nurse’s office afterward where she and her mother complain she was held for hours without any medical treatment.

Homewood-Flossmoor District 233 has been heavily criticized for not moving quickly enough in the investigation. Attorney Stephanie White, who filed the lawsuit, said two weeks after the incident that not enough was being done. 

“It was my impression that neither the teacher nor the outcry witness had yet been interviewed," White told Patch. "Very frustrating. I was told the teaching staff had not yet been interviewed because of 'teaching schedules.’”

Around 250 students staged a walkout at the school in the days after the incident occurred. Students noted they were disappointed in the handling of the case.

"That's why they are doing the walkouts, because there's not enough security, there's not enough adult supervision, there are not people that are listening to these girls. And the fact that there's no camera," the girl’s mother said at the time.