Former CPS track coach in prison for abusing students sued again

A former Simeon Career Academy track coach convicted last year of sexually abusing students at the school has been named in another lawsuit.

The new suit was filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court against Gerald Gaddy and the Chicago Board of Education.

Gaddy, 44, was charged in July 2014 with assaulting two girls, ages 16 and 17, at the school at 8147 S. Vincennes Ave. several times, according to Chicago Police.

He was convicted of four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of aggravated battery in a public place in a September 2016 bench trial, according to circuit court records.

Gaddy remains held at the Menard Correctional Center in downstate Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He will be eligible for parole in 2048.

Similar lawsuits were filed against Gaddy and the board in October 2014 and October 2016.

The six-count suit filed Thursday seeks more than $300,000 in damages for Jane Doe, who was a minor student at the school at the time of the assault allegations. It seeks more than $50,000 from Gaddy for battery and claims he sexually abused her.

The suit also accuses the board of education of failing to conduct a background check on Gaddy that would have revealed previous convictions for drug offenses, which should have raised red flags. It also claims other employees and students knew about Gaddy’s behavior and accuses the board of negligence and of failing to report the abuse to authorities.

A spokesman for Chicago Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.