Counselor sexually abused student at Orthogenic School: prosecutors

A man has been charged with sexually abusing a 16-year-old student while he was a residential counselor at the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School on the South Side.

Eduardo Barrios, 52, is charged with felony count criminal sex abuse for the alleged 2014 incident, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Barrios, who was 48 at the time, was employed at the Orthogenic School and assigned to the same dorm as the 16-year-old boy, prosecutors said. In the early hours of Oct. 28, Barrios allegedly entered the room where the boy was sleeping and put his hand under the sheets and abused him.

The boy woke up and noticed Barrios abusing him, according to prosecutors. The boy moved and then Barrios backed away and left the room. The boy reached out to his family and a school counselor the same day. The counselor reported the incident to police.

The Orthogenic School did not immediately respond to a request for details about Barrios’ time of employment at the school.

This is the third sex abuse charge filed against 52-year-old Eduardo Barrios, according to court records. The earlier charges of sex abuse are related to his time as a coach at Kennedy-King College in 2017 — three years after the incident at the Orthogenic School.

Judge Mary C. Marubio ordered Barrios post $5,000 bail at a hearing Saturday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.