When Jillian Lake was a student at Oswego High School she followed a routine. She woke up in the morning, got dressed and drove through the community she’d grown up in.
But inside she was consumed by fear. She worried she would be ostracized if anyone found out she’d reported harassment to the school district that she said she faced from a popular teacher. So she forced herself to put on a brave face when she walked into the building.
“Going to school every day was terrifying, not only for the sheer fact of the teacher being at that school but also the fact of anyone finding out that I had come forward in the first place,” Lake said Wednesday at a downtown news conference. “It was just absolutely terrifying and torturous.”
Lake is one of four former students suing the Oswego Community Unit School District 308 for allegedly showing a “reckless disregard for student safety” and failing to properly investigate grooming and sexual misconduct they say they experienced at the hands of Sean Staffeldt, a former teacher and coach for football, wrestling and track.
“The fact that this was allowed to go on this long and was minimized repeatedly by the district, frankly, it’s outrageous,” said attorney Cass Casper of Disparti Law Group.
When reached by phone by a Tribune reporter, Staffeldt said he hadn’t heard about the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Kendall County Circuit Court. However, he said, “No, that’s wrong,” in reference to the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. He said he would need to talk to his attorney.
According to the lawsuit, Lake first met Staffeldt in a driver’s education class in 2018 during her sophomore year. Lake and the other women were minors when most of the alleged abuse took place, from roughly 2012 to 2020.
In that class, Staffeldt allegedly showed “favoritism” by having Lake sit next to his desk and made sexually inappropriate comments such as, “You better not wear those short shorts around (the football players) that you wear around me because it would be like throwing meat to a pack of dogs,” the suit said.
The suit said Staffeldt recommended Lake for the position of football manager, where she stayed until November 2019. He allegedly asked her during football practice if she and her high school boyfriend had sex, and when she declined to answer, according to the suit, he responded, “I have to watch a lot of porn.” He also regularly rubbed her shoulders and said she was “tense” or “tight” around her lower back and butt area, the suit alleged.
During her senior year, he allegedly kissed her on the outer corner of her lips after asking her to come into a secluded coach’s office, the suit said.
Theresa Komitas, a spokesperson for District 308, said in a statement that as of Wednesday afternoon the district hadn’t been formally served with the lawsuit and that it wouldn’t provide further comment until the district “has reviewed the official documentation.” She didn’t respond to follow-up questions asking about Staffeldt’s employment history.
According to the lawsuit, Staffeldt worked at the district for 12 years until he resigned in 2020 after students and staff members came forward with reports of sexual harassment. However, in 2017, the suit said, the district issued Staffeldt a written warning directing him to “maintain professionalism” and prohibiting him from hugging and touching students.
Casper said the district “took no meaningful action” to prevent abuse moving forward. He said that, to his knowledge, there’s been no criminal investigation into Staffeldt’s alleged actions.
“Despite all these red flags and warnings, the district allowed Staffeldt to continue teaching and coaching with unfettered access to female students for years,” Casper said.
Even after students reported harassment, Casper said they still didn’t get proper support from the district. Lake, for example, didn’t receive a follow-up from a counselor or social worker, he said. Another plaintiff was pressured to finish the year online or switch schools after reporting harassment, Casper alleged.
Natalie Grimm said she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression after what happened to her. She moved out of Oswego, and her parents also moved because Staffeldt lived nearby.
“Every day I’d have to drive home and pass his house,” she said. “I was terrified to go home every day.”
According to the lawsuit, when she was babysitting for Staffeldt in 2019, she allegedly walked in on him watching pornography and masturbating, at which point he stared at her. The suit said she had warned him she was coming over. Staffeldt allegedly then tried to hug Grimm and asked her if she ever masturbates, the suit said.
She said she struggled with the idea of speaking up but felt empowered when she learned about other women’s experiences. Mostly, she’s frustrated that the district hasn’t reached out to the victims or made a robust public statement.
Anne Marie Fish, another plaintiff, said she’s choosing “truth” because the district didn’t do its job to protect girls.
During the 2013-14 school year, Fish said she received frequent emails from Staffeldt, allegedly using affectionate language such as “Love you Fish,” the suit said. He also allegedly instructed her to meet in a private equipment closet because he didn’t want anyone “spying on him.”
The women said they want the district to put policies in place to protect students, such as mandatory training and enforcement on grooming behaviors. They also said they want more support for victims who come forward.
“We are refusing to let it be minimized. We are refusing to let it be forgotten,” Fish said. “You (the district) protected a reputation. We are protecting students. You avoided accountability. We are demanding it. This is what courage looks like. This is what leadership looks like. If you won’t lead, we will.”