Westchester School District Sued Over Allegations of Past Sexual Abuse by Former Teacher

In a recent legal development, the Westchester School District has found itself at the center of a lawsuit following allegations of sexual abuse by a former teacher who reportedly abused a student approximately two decades ago, per reports from

ABC7 Chicago

and

FOX32 Chicago

. The accused, Dawn Chester, also known as Dawn Lach and Dawn Anderson, was charged over the summer with aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Chester was a science teacher and volleyball coach at the Westchester Middle School from 1998 to 2000, during which time the alleged abuses occurred, including inappropriate physical contact and private correspondence with the then 11-year-old student.

The lawsuit claims the district did not appropriately prevent Chester from teaching in another school after she resigned over these allegations in 2000, the suit also alleges that no reports were made to law enforcement or the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) by the school at that time, according to

ABC7 Chicago

; the Westchester School District has since stated that the current Illinois School Code requirements to report such allegations were not in place back then.

Details emerged, including letters soliciting secrecy and sexual encounters on school grounds and at a school camp trip in Wisconsin, Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, the law firm handling the case, filed the lawsuit indicating a pattern of abuse by Chester, these details suggest conscious efforts by Chester to hide the abuse, as reported by

FOX32 Chicago

. It is claimed that the abuse also took place during school-sanctioned events like a sleepover, even after reports surfaced to the superintendent who allegedly failed to act on the information at the time, despite the concerns raised by students and a parent.

In June, when the now 37-year-old victim noticed that Chester was still working as a teacher, she reported the past abuses to the authorities, which resulted in Chester, now 54, being charged with one felony count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, the law firm representing the victim is pressing for accountability and remedy for the lasting trauma caused by these events, as “the plaintiff, now 37, has suffered lasting trauma from the abuse and is taking legal action not only for personal justice but to prevent further similar incidents,” disclosed David J. Rashid of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard in a statement obtained by

FOX32 Chicago

.

The case has prompted a call from attorneys for others who might have been victims to come forward and take a stand against the abuse, underscoring a communal obligation to protect the innocent and vulnerable from those who abuse positions of trust, further updates and details from this lawsuit are expected to follow after Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard’s press conference, which will discuss the allegations in-depth.

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