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January 27, 2005
Girl says she told school of teacher's sex abuse
A day after school officials in Berwyn said years-old student complaints against a music teacher did not involve sexual abuse claims, one of his alleged victims came forward to dispute that Wednesday, saying she wrote a letter detailing being taped up and molested by the man.
The school district received the letter at least four years ago but watered down its allegations and left out the sexual abuse claims when contacting the girl's parents, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the unidentified girl and her "horrified" parents.
Lawyers for the girl, now 15, said the school "buried" the letter and let Robert Sperlik remain in a position to molest girls, doing little but reprimanding him and telling him to leave his classroom door open when instructing students.
Family attorney Jon Loevy, however, acknowledged he has not seen the girl's letter and will ask a judge today to ensure that the school district preserves it.
Loevy said the girl penned the letter when she was 10 or 11 years old and gave it to a visiting school psychologist. It "expressly" detailed how Sperlik used duct tape to bind her and two other young girls to chairs and molested them on repeated occasions, said Loevy, who did not know the letter's precise wording.
The girl never told her parents of the abuse or the letter until Jan. 12. She assumed Pershing Elementary School's principal had told her parents when the official contacted them after receiving the letter from the psychologist, Loevy said.
But the principal only told the parents that "Sperlik had inappropriately touched her knee and hair," according to the lawsuit. The principal couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.
Sperlik, 45, remained on the job until earlier this month. He was arrested Jan. 17 after the girl's parents learned of her previous abuse claims and called police, Loevy said. He was arrested and charged with molesting the girl and four other students.
More victims, charges possible
With 24 more students, all girls, stepping forward with charges that they, too, were attacked, the total number of possible victims is now at 29, said Berwyn Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo.
He said more charges could be filed against Sperlik by the end of the week.
The lawsuit names Sperlik, the school district and the principal. It says the girl was traumatized by the abuse, and says her parents were injured because they were kept in the dark about their daughter's claims and thus never given a chance to console her.
The school district never told police or the state Department of Children and Family Services about the allegations against Sperlik. Cook County prosecutors are reviewing whether the district erred in not contacting authorities, a source said.
South Berwyn School District 100 attorney Thomas Melody said Wednesday the letter and subsequent reprimands of Sperlik did not require the district to notify police or DCFS.
''In my opinion, there was nothing [district officials] were told that would have constituted child abuse or neglect,'' Melody said. ''The touching was not alleged to be sexual.''
Posted by Nealus at January 27, 2005 07:01 PM
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