September 15, 2022

Chicago High School Dean Charged for Raping Student and Forcing her to Have Abortions

Former Chicago Public School Dean Brian Crowder
Photo credit: Cook County Sheriff's Office
Chicago prosecutors charged Brian Crowder, the former dean at Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice, with raping a female student and then forcing her to get at least two abortions. At each abortion, Crowder posed as the student's stepfather to sign consent forms.

Court documents state that Crowder began messaging a 15-year-old student over Snapchat in 2013. Prosecutors say that Crowder soon afterward raped the student five to six times per month. Documents allege that this continued for two years. On at least one occasion, Crowder gave the student alcohol. They conceived two children, which were aborted in 2014 and 2015. 

Prosecutors allege that the relationship ended in 2015 when the student was in high school. She reported the abuse to a teacher. The teacher recommended that the student report her abuse to the police, but the teacher, who is required by law to report them, did not do so. In 2019, the student filed a police report after Crowder tried to contact her at her workplace.

Crowder was finally fired from Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice in November of 2021 after the school was made aware of the charges.

Crowder was arrested on Wednesday, August 31 on a $75,000 bond. He is due back in court for a hearing on September 20.