Lawyers for the family of a 12-year-old boy who suffered a “nearly fatal” beating last week at his suburban middle school filed a petition in court Thursday seeking information about the attack they say was kept from them by the school district.
Henry Sembdner, a seventh-grader at Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, was in a coma over the weekend after being beaten by another student at the school Friday.
He suffered severe injuries and was taken to Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin before being transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
Attorneys for the boy's family released a statement Friday saying the family holds no ill will toward the student who attacked the boy but noted they still struggle to find answers from school officials who kept them “in the dark” following the attack.
School District U-46 official Mary Fergus said the district's counsel has been in contact with the Sembdner's attorneys and will continue to do so.
"We have responded to requests for information pursuant to the rules of civil law procedure," she said in an email. "It's important to note the district already has policies in place to support our obligation as a government body to preserve records."
"This filing is not a lawsuit for damages," the Goldberg Weisman Cairo Law Firm said in the statement, "but rather a petition filed under Illinois Supreme Court rules that allows for civil discovery to take place to identify what, if any, claims may exist and who the responsible parties might be."
The law firm said it "intends to take all necessary steps to seek the truth about Henry’s attack and will hold District officials accountable in providing this information."
The attorneys said the boy was slammed headfirst onto the floor, which caused him to bleed profusely and become nauseous. They said school officials sent him to the nurse and called his parents to say he suffered a bloody nose and broken tooth.
The school called emergency crews only after the boy’s eye began to bulge, the attorneys said. At the hospital, the attorneys said, a school official told the family the school had not experienced behavior problems with the student who attacked the boy.
“Since that time, Henry’s parents have tried to sift through a maze of rumors and second-hand information as to whether that representation was in fact true and have struggled to understand why a child who allegedly had no behavioral issues would suddenly turn violent,” the attorneys said.
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In a letter to parents last week, Kenyon Woods Middle School Principal Lisa Olsem said the young boy was “assaulted by another student” just before noon on Friday.
“I spent time with the family of the injured student at the hospital this afternoon and will remain in close contact with them,” Olsem wrote. “The alleged attacker, [sic] was arrested and transported to South Elgin Police Department.”
At the Elgin school district meeting Monday night, the student board member wore green, a symbol officials say is meant to represent hope. Others throughout the district wore the color in support after the brutal beating. That support, the district’s CEO says, is not one-sided.
“Not only do we support Henry, but we also support the student who allegedly caused this—we support him through counseling,” Tony Sanders said.
A school official also touched on what might have caused the incident.
“The student was bumped, or somehow bumped into the other student, that student then became aggressive in a very short couple of seconds and injured the young man,” said John Heiderscheidt, the district’s director of safety.
Chief Jerry Krawczyk said the alleged suspect is in middle school but did not give an age.
"This case makes me sad as a dad," he said. "I've never seen a case like this involving children resulting in such severe injuries."
Two GoFundMepages were set up to help the Sembdner family with medical costs.
Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo took to Twitter Monday to lend Henry some support and make him an offer.
The family’s attorneys said Friday the Sembdners are cooperating fully with the South Elgin Police Department and Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office conducting an ongoing investigation into the matter.
