A family filed suit Wednesday against the Chicago Board of Education alleging a teacher at their 11-year-old daughter's school failed to act when she watched the girl being led away by a suspicious stranger who later raped her.
The teacher at John W. Cook Elementary in Auburn-Gresham reportedly became suspicious when an unknown man approached the student in May. The teacher took three photos and even called out to the girl, according to ABC Chicago.
The teacher reached out to the girl's parents about eight hours after she originally took the photos, according to CBS Chicago.
The lawsuit alleges that the district was "guilty of willful and wanton misconduct" and that the teacher did not do enough to keep the child safe and failed to report the abduction in a timely manner, reports NBC Chicago.
"[The teacher] doesn't call the police," the family's attorney Jeff Deutschman told ABC. "[S]he doesn't call the school security. She doesn't call the school principal. She calls no one. And reports it to the parents at the end of the day around five o'clock."
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the family is seeking upwards of $50,000 in damages. The lawsuit states the child was “owed a higher duty of care.”
No charges have been filed against the teacher, who is not named in the lawsuit, and whose removal is not being sought by the family. She remains employed at Cook Elementary.
NBC reports the student has not gone to trial and is still recovering from the effects of the attack.