Suit: Teacher sexually assaulted student at school for disabled

A former student says she was sexually assaulted by a teacher last year at a special needs high school in West Englewood.

The alleged abuse happened in November 2015 on the grounds of Southside Occupational Academy, 7342 S. Hoyne Ave., according to a lawsuit filed against the Chicago Board of Education on Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court.

The school describes itself as a “transition center for students aged 16-22 years with disabilities.” The alleged victim’s age is not specified in the suit.

“CPS notified both CPD and DCFS about these allegations, and conducted its own investigation that determined these allegations [were] unfounded,” CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner said in an email.

No criminal charges have been filed against the teacher named as a defendant, according to police and court records.

The suit claims the teacher assaulted her “verbally, physically and sexually,” and that other school workers knew about his “predatory conduct towards students” following other complaints that he “commonly engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct” at the school.

She is seeking more than $300,000 in damages.