Former student sues Fenton High School board for alleged abuse by teacher

BENSENVILLE, Ill. — A former Bensenville student has filed a lawsuit against a suburban school board, alleging abuse by a longtime teacher who was also a coach and administrator.

Despite the teacher's firing, the lawsuit claims the abuse continued for more than a decade.

“It's hard to imagine a school district knowing more but doing less about an accused child predator,” said attorney Patrick Thronson, who represents the former Fenton High School student.

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Prosecuting under Title IX of the federal civil rights law, the lawsuit claims the ex-teacher not only groomed and molested the former student, but did so to others as well, dating back to 2009.

“The lawsuit alleges that the district knew about this problem for years, did little or nothing to address it, only recently fired this teacher and continued to promote in the meantime,” Thorson said.

According to Thorson, the former student claims she was sexually assaulted multiple times during her freshman year from 2015 to 2016. The suit also names the school board, alleging negligence and a failure to intervene following reports of abuse against the teacher which lasted 15 years.

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WGN is not naming the teacher because he has not been charged with a crime. However, he was fired this spring after being placed on paid leave, in addition to replacing the district's superintendent after public outcry.

The district is accused of failing to act on reports that the teacher was sending sexual messages to students on his district-issued cellphone and later reported that he was involved in inappropriate relationships with students .

“She felt that was enough and that institutions should not be able to get away with this type of behavior,” Thorson said.

The district says its attorneys are reviewing the lawsuit and have hired an outside law firm to investigate. A Bensenville Police spokesperson tells us today their investigation is ongoing and all findings have been forwarded to the Dupage County State's Attorney's Office.