The former dean of a Chicago Public Schools high school sentenced to prison for sexual assault
Brian Crowder, the former dean of Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice in Chicago, has been sentenced to years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a student between 2013 and 2015. A jury convicted Crowder, 43, on multiple counts of criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse last month. Judge Stanley Sacks handed down a sentence of 12 years for one criminal sexual assault conviction and consecutive five-year terms for the remaining charges.
The jury found Crowder guilty after hearing evidence that included medical records, signed abortion consent forms, and Snapchat messages between Crowder and the victim. The victim, now 27, was between 15 and 17 years old at the time of the assaults.
According to prosecutors, Crowder began grooming the girl in 2013 by messaging her on Snapchat and sending her inappropriate videos. He then invited her to his home, where he served her alcohol and sexually assaulted her. The abuse continued for two years, occurring five or six times a month. The victim became pregnant twice during this time, and Crowder posed as her stepfather to sign consent forms for her abortions.
A search warrant for Crowder’s Snapchat account revealed messages between him and the victim discussing their sexual relationship and meeting at his home. The victim disclosed the abuse to a school employee during her senior year but did not report it to the police out of fear of her identity being revealed. She cut off contact with Crowder in 2015.
In 2019, Crowder reached out to the victim again, prompting her to finally report the abuse to the police in 2024. Shortly after her report, Crowder sent her a text message saying, “Goodbye forever.”
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