Schools

Coach Sexually Abused Student During Track Practice: Lawsuit

North Shore Country Day School officials released the results of an independent investigation triggered by a social media post last year.

A former volunteer track coach at North Shore Country Day School and the school are facing a lawsuit from a former student who says the school was willfully or wantonly negligent in allowing her to be sexually abused by the coach on campus.
A former volunteer track coach at North Shore Country Day School and the school are facing a lawsuit from a former student who says the school was willfully or wantonly negligent in allowing her to be sexually abused by the coach on campus. (Street View)

WINNETKA, IL — North Shore Country Day School administrators last week announced the results of a four-month independent investigation into possible sexual misconduct by educators. The probe was opened in June after a former student reported on social media that she had been abused by a coach at the Winnetka private school. While unable to substantiate her allegations, investigators turned up two additional allegations.

The board hired the New York City-based security firm T&M Protection Resources to lead the investigation without limitations or conditions, school officials told parents. Investigators from the firm carried out 35 interviews and reviewed school files and records to corroborate allegations and assessed the credibility of various reports, some of which date back multiple decades.

In a joint letter to the school community Thursday, Head of School Tom Flemma and Board Chair Molly Oelerich thanked the graduates who spoke with investigators.

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"[W]e start with heartfelt apologies to the several alumni who shared stories of inappropriate conduct while they were students at North Shore [Country Day School]. We have such admiration and respect for their honesty and owe them a debt of gratitude," they said. "Their bravery will help make us a stronger, safer [s]chool."

In the oldest incident described in the report, a former student reported inappropriate behavior by a bus driver when the alum was in middle school more than 25 years ago. The former student described possible grooming but did not allege any sexual contact, according to the joint letter from school officials.

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T&M investigators found the report credible but were unable to identify the bus driver or otherwise corroborate the student's account. None of the school's current bus drivers were busing students around a quarter-century ago, it said.

In the most recent incident revealed in the course of the investigation, school officials learned police had been notified that a male North Shore Country Day School employee and a female high school student had engaged in "inappropriate electronic communications."

The employee, a graduate of the school, had resigned his position, effective in the summer of 2019. He was placed on administrative leave and forbidden from campus for the rest of the school year after officials learned of the allegations, which led to investigations by the Department of Child and Family Services and the Wilmette Police Department. School officials said criminal charges were filed in the case, but no

John Kann, a former third and fourth grade assistant teacher at North Shore Country Day School, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct in September 2019, according to police reports and court records. Wilmette police had gotten a report in June 2019 that he had been having inappropriate conversations with a 17-year-old student on SnapChat starting that January. Investigators with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services said they were unaware of any other complaints from students about Kann.

According to police reports, Kann repeatedly called the student "cute" and "gorgeous" and asked her to send "more cutie" photos. Citing screenshots of the conversations, police said Kann sent the student images of himself without a shirt. Police said Kann's conduct did not violate Illinois laws prohibiting grooming or indecent solicitation of a child because of the student's age. Instead, Kann was charged with causing the student to become alarmed and disturbed by successfully applying to a teaching position at her high school — an offer that was rescinded when they learned of the social media exchanges. Kann's attorney at the time of his arrest did not immediately respond to a request for information about the case.

The woman whose 2019 social media post triggered the investigation declined to be interviewed by representatives from T&M, so the firm was unable to make any findings regarding her claim, according to school officials. It is not clear if the social media post, which Patch has been so far unable to locate, remains publicly visible.

Court records show the alumna filed a civil suit under the name "Jane Doe" in October against the school and its former volunteer track coach, who has not been charged with a crime.

According to the suit, the school "failed to protect the minor plaintiff, Jane Doe, from sexual misconduct and physical harm when defendant, North Shore [Country Day School] knew or should have known that [the coach] had a propensity to engage in sexual misconduct with minor students," an allegation that remains unexplained.

Doe is represented by attorney Susan Loggans, who has not responded to a request for comment about the case. Loggans has represented numerous women said R. Kelly abused them, cutting more than a dozen settlements and non-disclosure agreements with Kelly's accusers, according to reporter Jim DeRogatis.

Attorneys for North Shore Country Day filed a motion to dismiss the suit in December — before Loggans filed the amended complaint on the former student's behalf. They argued that the complaint had failed to allege where and when abuse took place. Plus, they argued, teachers and coaches are granted immunity from misconduct "absent willful and wanton misconduct," which the former student's lawyer had not initially alleged.

The amended complaint accuses both the 35-year-old former coach and the $34,000-a-year preparatory school of willful and wanton misconduct. The earlier complaint included a count of negligence against the school, but it was dropped before the latest version was filed on Jan. 22. The suit also alleges the former teacher intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the alumna.

"On, before, and subsequent to January 1, 2009," according to her suit, the woman was "sexually abused without her consent by [the track coach] on the premises of North Shore Country Day School during after school track practice in the gymnasium."

According to the complaint, the woman was "subject to threats, intimidation, manipulation or fraud perpetrated by the abuser or by any person acting in the interest of the abuser," so the statute of limitations did not preclude a suit.

The coach "committed sexual misconduct with plaintiff, Jane Doe, enticing her into a relationship with him when she was unable to provide consent," according to the suit. He "used his position of power as a volunteer coach and agent of North Shore [Country Day School] to ensnare plaintiff, Jane Doe, in sexual misconduct when she was unable to consent. ... [He] engaged in actions ... which he knew would cause the plaintiff severe emotional distress."

According to the letter from school officials, the allegations and the investigation has led to a reassessment of their policies and practices.

Some of the improvements they described include: requiring any volunteers who might interact alone with students to be vetted with a full background check, implementing a new electronic communication system eliminating the need for employees to text students directly and revising training around professional boundaries and appropriate interactions between students and faculty.

Representatives of the school declined further comment on the former student's suit, citing a policy against discussing pending litigation.

According to a letter from Loggans addressed to the accused former coach at an address in Minnesota, he has made no effort to answer the summons or appear in court. A voicemail left on an associated phone number has not been returned.

A hearing in the lawsuit against the school and its former coach is scheduled for April 17 in Chicago, according to Cook County Court Clerk's Office records.


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