A suburban high school is investigating alleged sexual misconduct at a party hosted at the home of one of its athletic coaches while he was away from home, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Students and parents at Oak Park River Forest High School told NBC 5 they believed the police investigation into the matter was taking too long and too few details were being made public.
“The district did not anticipate the police investigation would take this length of time,” the school's administration said Tuesday in a letter to parents. “In addition to conducting a thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct, the district will be evaluating whether [it] should have conducted an investigation immediately upon being notified.”
Oak Park Police said the department will not comment on speculations about whether or not investigations are underway. “We also would never intentionally withhold or delay the release of information related to an investigation if findings warranted action,” the department said in a statement.
Some parents were pleased to hear the school was beginning its own investigation.
“I was surprised that the police were still looking into it,” Linnear Hanna, a parent and former elementary school teacher, told NBC 5.
Students say they’re also worried and wondering why more details of the investigation haven’t been released.
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“A lot of girls have spoken out on social media and used the hashtags ‘protect me OPRF’ and ‘what means no?’” student Paige Ross said. “There’s also a petition right now … for a better curriculum on rape culture.”
In December of 2015, an Oak Park River Forest teacher was charged with sexually assaulting a student, the Chicago Tribune reported at the time.
