Two former Evanston Township High School students filed suit today claiming a former drama teacher at the school sexually abused them decades ago.
The suit names the school and its board as defendants along with the teacher, Bruce Siewerth.
In a news release, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Michael T. Mertz, claims that Siewerth was “an emotionally controlling and manipulating man” who used his role as theater director at the school “to engage in sexual conduct with his male students.”
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, also claims that though Siewerth’s behavior was an “open secret” at the school, no administrator put a stop to it.
Mertz said, “Parents entrust schools like ETHS to protect students from the predatory actions of teachers who use their positions to groom, control and sexually abuse vunerable students. ETHS failed in its duty to protect students from this man.”
Siewerth reportedly worked at ETHS from the mid-1960s to the late 1990s. After the charges first emerged on Facebook earlier this month, Siewerth, in a telephone interview with the Chicago Tribune, denied that he’d done anything wrong.
Related story
ETHS bars former teacher over sex abuse complaints (10/13/17)
Hmmm.
Hmmm. Wasn’t he a department chair? Open secret, promotion to department chair, respected retiree for many years. Makes you wonder about the Board and Administration of ETHS.