Former student claims Chicago Public Schools failed to check background of security guard accused of sex assault

CBS News

3 days ago

A former Chicago Public Schools student is suing the Chicago Board of Education, claiming it failed to conduct a proper background check on the security guard who is charged with sexually assaulting her.
Police reports identify the security guard as a known gang member.
Romel Campoverde, 45, worked as a security guard at Farragut Career Academy IB World School, 2345 S. Christiana Ave. In July 2023, he was hit with 11 charges — ranging from criminal sexual assault to aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Campoverde is now on home arrest awaiting trial.
Campoverde is also the subject of police reports spanning 20 years. A brand-new lawsuit claims the Chicago Public Schools did not look closely enough before hiring at Farragut — where he was charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl he met at the school during her freshman year.
Prosecutors two years ago said Campoverde began communicating with the teenage student on Snapchat.
The two then began meeting each other during the victim's sophomore year, when on separate occasions, he took her to the mall to buy shoes, gave her $40 to get her hair done, and bought her alcohol, prosecutors said. He also invited her to his home after prom on May 20, 2023, prosecutors said.
On June 25, 2023, Campoverde took the girl to a McDonald's and bought eight cans of a tequila-mixed drink, prosecutors said. He had the girl drink six of them, and he drank two himself, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the girl became "extremely intoxicated," and Campoverde took her to 31st Street beach, where he kissed her as he drove around, and he pulled down her shirt and put his mouth on her breasts. He then took her to his RV near 26th Street and Blue Island Avenue, where he pulled off her shorts, and tried to perform oral sex on her, but she pushed his head away, prosecutors said.
Campoverde then ignored her pleas to stop and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors alleged.
The victim pushed him away again and ran outside and called a friend. Campoverde came out of the RV and told the girl to get in his car, and he drove her home, prosecutors said.
The girl reported the attack to an afterschool program employee the next day, prosecutors said. A rape kit was collected, and police obtained a search warrant. Campoverde was arrested on July 10, 2023.
Attorney Mark Brown, representing the now-18-year-old behind the lawsuit, said she took a year off of school following the assault and changed schools — and thus, she still hasn't graduated from high school.
Brown read the teenage girl's statement: "I used to be a happy outgoing teenager. I loved school. I trusted adults. After the attack I couldn't go back to my school. I missed a whole year because I was too afraid."
Attorneys said Campoverde should never have been in a school to begin with.
"They were required to seek an explanation from him, according to their own policies, and they did nothing," Brown said.
Attorneys claim the Chicago Public Schools violated their own policy by not taking a closer look at his background.
"They stopped at just receiving the basic list of arrests and convictions," said Brown. "They were supposed to do a deeper dive once they knew he had these convictions and had these arrests."
CBS News Chicago took a closer look the police reports and arrests and found more than arrests. Police referred to Campoverde in documents as a "documented Satan Disciple street gang member."
The police reports also documented a history of narcotics, battery and aggravated assault charges in Campoverde's background.
CBS News Chicago brought the claims in the lawsuit directly to CPS, which replied with this statement:
"Chicago Public Schools (CPS) remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its students. In accordance with District policy, CPS does not comment on matters involving pending litigation."
Chicago police deferred to CPS when CBS News Chicago reached out to the department with questions.