{"id":16906,"date":"2025-03-19T05:25:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/?p=16906"},"modified":"2025-03-19T05:25:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:25:03","slug":"homewood-flossmoor-high-school-district-settles-for-3-5-million-in-sexual-assault-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/2025\/03\/19\/homewood-flossmoor-high-school-district-settles-for-3-5-million-in-sexual-assault-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Homewood-Flossmoor High School District settles for $3.5 million in sexual assault lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction to the Case<\/h2>\n

A lawsuit alleging a south suburban school district failed to protect a student from sexual assault will be settled for $3.5 million, attorneys and the district announced Tuesday. Amayah Blair, now 19, reported being raped inside a practice room during theater class at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in October 2022 when students were paired off to practice lines. The school called her mom, Jessica Johnson, the police and the Department of Children and Family Services, but Blair and Johnson say the school didn\u2019t do enough.<\/p>\n

The Aftermath of the Incident<\/h2>\n

In the years since the reported rape, Blair finished high school online, watched her graduation date come and go without walking across the stage, struggled to keep a job and changed from a bright, bubbly person to someone who is followed by a dark cloud, Blair and Johnson said. The trauma made her anxious, nervous around new people and constantly on edge, they said. \u201cAlways happy, she had an energy about her,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cDreams, aspirations, wanted to go to college and all of that halted after this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jessica Johnson speaks at a news conference Tuesday about the settlement reached between her and her daughter and the Homewood-Flossmoor school district. \u201cAlways happy, she had an energy about her,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cDreams, aspirations, wanted to go to college and all of that halted after this.\u201d
\nPeyton Reich\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

The Lawsuit and Settlement<\/h2>\n

Blair and Johnson filed a lawsuit against the district, naming Principal Clinton Alexander and Theater Director Deena Cassady. They alleged the school and its staff failed to protect Blair from a student who had a lengthy disciplinary history and reports of sexual harassment. Staff shouldn\u2019t have let students alone in the room without supervision, the complaint says. The Homewood-Flossmoor school board voted to approve the settlement, which was encouraged and will be paid for by the district\u2019s insurance company. But the settlement doesn\u2019t mean the school admits wrongdoing in the case and \u201conly the two students involved know what actually occurred,\u201d the school said in a message to the Homewood-Flossmoor community posted on the district\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Response to the Settlement<\/h2>\n

Johnson said in the complaint and at a news conference Tuesday announcing the settlement that the school didn\u2019t respond accordingly because no one called an ambulance and offered Blair food and coffee that could have compromised a rape kit. Once Johnson arrived at the school, she was kept separate from her daughter, she said. Blair was later given a rape kit at a nearby hospital. The school\u2019s response to the settlement was another \u201cslap in the face,\u201d Blair said, not only to her, but to any future students who try to report sexual misconduct at school. She said she felt \u201cno relief.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Amaya<\/p>\n

Amaya Blair, 19, and her attorney, Stephanie L. White, of the Law Offices of Stephanie L. White, P.C., speak during a press conference regarding the settlement of a lawsuit involving a sexual assault. The school\u2019s response to the settlement was another \u201cslap in the face,\u201d Blair said, not only to her, but to any future students who try to report sexual misconduct at school. She said she felt \u201cno relief.\u201d
\nPeyton Reich\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Background and Context<\/h2>\n

At the time of the reported rape, Homewood-Flossmoor had already been dealing with a reckoning regarding student sexual assault, some taking place on campus. In March of 2022, months before Blair\u2019s reported rape, students staged a walkout to protest how reports of sexual harassment and assault were handled at the school. At least six students identified themselves as victims of sexual misconduct, but student organizer Titilayo Anoma said students knew of more than that. \u201cThere were students that went to teachers or administrators and they were waved off or given some sort of runaround,\u201d Anoma said.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

No amount of money could take away Blair\u2019s pain, she said. The dollar amount doesn\u2019t compare to the time and innocence lost in a place she was supposed to feel safe, she said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t about any money,\u201d Blair said. "[We were] thinking that they realized how they handled it was wrong, or they felt some type of remorse or anything. For them to release that saying no wrongdoings or anything of that nature just shows that it\u2019s still nothing to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAQs<\/h2>\n