A former investigator who worked for more than 18 months looking into allegations of teacher misconduct inside Little Village Lawndale High School says she’s concerned about how long it’s taken Chicago Public Schools’ inspector general to investigate.
Stephanie Brown, who worked in Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Inspector General’s Sexual Allegations Unit, told NBC 5 Investigates in a recent interview that her investigation into the matter was nearly completed when she was fired in August of 2023.
That investigation, which began in 2021 and centers on allegations of grooming involving students and several educators, is still pending more than three years after it began, NBC 5 Investigates has learned.
Since 2017, at least seven teachers and administrators have resigned or been fired from Little Village Lawndale High School amid allegations of teacher misconduct.
Lessons in Betrayal: Former Chicago Public Schools students say they were groomed by teachersWhile the Office of Inspector General’s Sexual Allegations Unit has substantiated allegations against three educators, a larger, more complex investigation into several more remains pending.
That means there’s been no finding of wrongdoing.
“I was invested. I talked to so many people, I think I did 50 interviews, I did not want to leave that job without completing it,” Brown told NBC 5 Investigates.
Brown says she was terminated from her position a little more than a week after she filed a workplace complaint against a now-former manager alleging certain employees received preferential treatment. When that was found to be unsubstantiated, Brown says she was terminated a little over a week later.
A letter she shared with NBC 5 Investigates shows she was let go in August of 2023 due to unsatisfactory performance issues, despite receiving a satisfactory job review the year prior, her records show.
After being terminated, Brown said she became concerned about the future of the investigation and how long it’s been pending.
“So in my opinion, I thought those cases did need to be prioritized and wrapped up in a timely manner, because that was the responsible thing to do – that CPS shouldn’t be just looking out for themselves,” Brown said.
A summary report on the investigation is expected to be completed next month, according to Inspector General Phil Wagenknecht.
As part of our reporting, NBC 5 Investigates spoke to 12 former students who say they either witnessed, were approached by or felt like they were groomed into these sexual relationships with teachers.
“He took advantage of that trust,” said Ana Solano, a 2012 graduate of Little Ville Lawndale High School, referring to her former teacher, Dennis Kass, whom she said she had a four-year relationship with.
She said it ended because she wanted monogamy. She later learned he had been seeing other former students at Infinity.
Another former student, who asked only to be referred to by her first name, Jasmine, said that she had sex with Kass months after she graduated.
“So, I graduated in May or June of 2016, and I think we slept together in December 2016,” she said.
Several other former students we interviewed – both on and off camera – said they too were approached by Kass shortly after graduation.
They described receiving messages via Facebook with offers to go running or to meet up. Some of the women shared with us copies of messages they received.
“It’s definitely like a gardener planting a seed. You know, like any relationship, it takes time to trust and to allow yourself to be vulnerable,” said a former student who asked to be referred to as “Alice.”
We also spoke to a former student who asked to go by “Gabby.” She shared with us copies of an email she got from March of this year from the Office of Inspector General, letting her know that the “investigation of adult-to-student misconduct” remains ongoing and that the inspector general expects to issue its report prior to July 1.
When asked what she makes of the fact that the investigation has dragged on for years, she said: “I mean, I think it’s really wrong.”
Now in her twenties, she told us she formed a sexual relationship with her art teacher, Danny Pena, while she was still a senior.
“I just feel, like, so taken advantage of. I, I feel like there were signs. I’m sorry,” she said, fighting back tears.
“Gabby” also alleges another teacher, Hans Krueger, sent her inappropriate messages.
Emails she shared with us show that the investigator asked her questions about Krueger. She also said investigators wanted to know about messages she received from Dennis Kass.
“You had to like read between the lines that he was trying to talk about sexual stuff,” she said.
In an emailed statement, Kass’ attorney said his client would not comment and that Kass had expressed concern to the OIG about their investigative process and that “he remained hopeful that they will find he did not violate CPS policies.”
Krueger and Pena did not respond to multiple calls or emails seeking comment.
All of them resigned at various times and were placed on Do Not Hire lists by Chicago Public Schools.
Kass resigned in March of 2022.
Pena resigned in August of 2017 and – a month later – was placed on a Do Not Hire list. His disciplinary file does not state why.
Krueger also left CPS on his own in 2017. A letter shows he was not placed on the Do Not Hire list until 2022 due to a pending investigation into “allegations of serious misconduct.”
By then he had already been working in the Elgin, Illinois, school district for two years.
That’s the same west suburban district where Charles Smith, the former Infinity principal on the Little Village Lawndale campus, now serves as an assistant principal at a middle school.
Smith was removed as Infinity principal in February of 2023 and resigned months later amid allegations of serious misconduct, according to disciplinary records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates.
On his application to Elgin, he was asked if he resigned while an allegation of sexual misconduct was pending. He marked “no.”
In a statement, Smith’s attorney says that her client “vehemently denies any allegations” and that he has cooperated with the CPS/OIG investigation and that “he is confident that once it is completed … he will be cleared of any allegations of wrongdoing.”
A spokeswoman for Elgin schools told us the district “has not received a notification from Chicago Public Schools regarding either (Smith or Krueger) being listed on a “Do Not Hire” list.”
A CPS spokesman said that the district shares information about teachers placed on Do Not Hire lists with the Illinois Board of Education and with districts, but only when they request it.
“Yes. And I don’t know, you know, know how the future employer would really know that there’s an ongoing investigation,” Brown said.
During an April meeting of the Chicago Board of Education, the current inspector general Phil Wagenknecht gave an overview presentation of the Sexual Allegation Unit’s work.
It did not involve discussing current cases. But there was discussion about how long it takes for investigations to wrap up.
“Unfortunately, there is no definite timeline. Every case is different. And some cases are more difficult than others,” Wagenknecht told CPS board members during the April 9 meeting. “There are a variety of reasons why our cases take so long – the attorney review is one aspect of it.”
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