A woman has filed a lawsuit against the school district in west suburban Westchester, claiming she was groomed and sexually abused by her teacher and volleyball coach over twenty years ago.
Dawn Chester, a former teacher at Westchester Middle School, resigned following reports of abuse from a student’s mother. Despite this, she continued to teach at various middle schools in the Chicago area for over twenty years.
A 37-year-old plaintiff, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained to her legal team her reasons for coming forward after many years. She reported seeing the woman she claims abused her working in a different district and approached the police.
“It’s always the right time to come forward and speak up,” said attorney David Rashid.
The victim reported that from 1998 to 2000, beginning when she was 11 years old and in the sixth grade at Westchester Middle School, Chester, who was then known as Dawn Lach, served as her volleyball coach and teacher.
In 1998, the victim attended a school-sponsored overnight camp in Wisconsin, where Chester was a chaperone. The lawsuit claimed that Chester inappropriately touched the victim during the trip. The lawsuit claimed that she later assigned unwarranted detentions to the victim, forcing them to spend time alone together before school, during which Chester allegedly made sexual contact with the victim.
A lawsuit alleges that Chester engaged in sexual abuse of the victim multiple times on school premises, including in Chester’s classroom, the science lab, the locker room, and the gym.
Chester faces allegations of sending the victim letters praising her looks and urging her to meet him alone in her classroom.
In seventh grade, the volleyball team, which included the plaintiff, participated in a school-approved sleepover with Chester serving as the coach, according to the lawsuit. At the sleepover, Chester had the girl share an air mattress while the other kids used sleeping bags, according to the lawsuit.
The victim’s mother found the letters and informed the school district.
The legal action alleges that the school’s attorneys advised Chester to step down, which she did in August 2000. The woman’s attorneys claimed that the school district failed to notify law enforcement or the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as mandated by law.
This enabled Chester, known by the names Dawn Lach and Dawn Anderson, to keep working as a teacher in other places. The attorneys for the victim stated that the Westchester School District breached its duty of trust.
In August, Chester, aged 54, faced arrest and has since been indicted by a grand jury on a serious felony charge related to aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a victim under 18 by an individual in a position of trust. She has entered a plea of not guilty.