The Chicago Board of Education approved a historic $17.5 million settlement Wednesday over the sexual abuse of a student by a former Little Village high school dean.
The settlement is believed to be the largest school-related sexual abuse settlement in state history, according to the former student’s legal team.
Brian Crowder, who was sentenced in August to 22 years in prison, was found guilty of coercing the former female student into a sexual relationship when she was 15 years old.
“Our client demonstrated tremendous bravery in coming forward in the first place to tell her story, then testifying at Crowder’s criminal trial to ensure his conviction, and taking this lawsuit the distance to trial to see that full justice was done,” Bryce Hensley, founding partner at Gould Grieco & Hensley, the firm that represented her, said in an emailed statement to the Tribune. “We are incredibly proud of her and the difference that she has made for herself, her family, the hundreds of thousands of students currently in CPS, and the millions that will walk their halls in the future.”
The firm added: “This case was about sending a message that children and their safety must always be the Board of Education’s number one priority and when they are not, there is a steep price to pay.”
The yearslong sexual abuse, which occurred from 2013 to 2016, resulted in two pregnancies that he pressured her to abort, according to the suit. The former student testified in court earlier this year that communication between them began when Crowder approached her in the lunchroom and asked for her social media username. Crowder was convicted in July.
The sexual abuse was made public in 2024, after the former student sued the district for not protecting her during her years at the school. In the lawsuit, it was stated that a teacher failed to report the sexual assault under Illinois state law.
The district denied wrongdoing in the matter, and in a statement to the Tribune it said that they “recognize the seriousness of the allegations in this matter and the impact the student has reported experiencing. After careful consideration, the District chose to resolve this case through a settlement in order to avoid the uncertainty, cost, and emotional toll of a trial for all involved.”
The district’s approach to handling sexual abuse cases over the years has faced considerable scrutiny, culminating in the Chicago Tribune’s “Betrayed” investigative series in 2018.
The settlement came as two Chicago Public Schools investigatory bodies provided updates on sexual misconduct cases to the board. The district’s Office of the Inspector General, which focuses on allegations against CPS-affiliated adults, said there were 246 cases during the 2025 fiscal year, down from 463 in the year prior. The OIG also closed 336 cases.
“That was a strong effort on our part to reduce our case volume, and make a larger dent into our backlog of cases,” Inspector General Phil Wagenknecht said at the board’s agenda review committee meeting.
The Office of Student Protections and Title IX, or OSP — which investigates sexual misconduct between students and civil rights discrimination — saw a 9% decrease in reports received but a 6% increase in cases opened compared with last school year. Overall, the office received 12,043 reports and is investigating about a third of them. About 57% of cases occurred from the fifth through the ninth grade.
Sexual misconduct is the most frequent type of harm addressed by OSP, representing roughly half of total cases. OSP Chief Elizabeth Mendoza Browne noted that there was a 70% increase in dating violence from the year prior.
“This is something that our team is looking into,” Mendoza Browne said. “We’re looking for partner organizations to help us conduct intensive workshops with students who are engaged in this behavior.”
Roughly 42.5% of OSP complainants identify as Hispanic, and 42% identify as Black. That means Black students are overrepresented, as are those with disabilities, who make up 35% of complainants.
“I’m blown away. Just kind of shocked by both presentations, in regards to the high number of complaints, the racial disparities in those complaints,” said District 5A board member Jitu Brown. “I don’t know if this is absolutely true, just, it feels worse than a bad apple situation.”
Board member Ellen Rosenfeld, District 4B, also asked about the systemic patterns behind the data. “I appreciate the thorough report and your hard work,” Rosenfeld said of the presentations. “But it’s obviously not where we need it to be.”
Interim schools CEO Macquline King said she would follow up with board members after the meeting to provide “a better understanding of what we understand with the numbers.”
