Victim drops lawsuit against Krigas, Dist. 214

A sexual abuse victim will drop her lawsuit against Jason Krigas and Northwest Suburban High School District 214.

"They've just decided they've been through enough," said Steven E. Glink, a Northbrook attorney who represents the victim and her family.

Krigas, the former Prospect High School choral director, was found guilty of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and sentenced to three years in prison.

The complaint contained six counts, each seeking more than $75,000 in damages. The suit states that Krigas inflicted emotional distress upon the student.

The suit also blamed the district and the District. 214 school board for failing to protect the girl from being sexually abused.

On Sept. 7, 2006, Krigas, of Fox River Grove, was found guilty of engaging in such acts as kissing and fondling the student, who was 17 at the time, at the high school during the 2003-04 school year.

"My client just realized she didn't want to go through depositions where she would answer seven or eight hours worth of questions," Glink said. He plans to formally file the paperwork to drop the case soon, he said.

"This case wasn't about money," he said. "My view was that the district had a responsibility to this girl."

Krigas -- who once earned $84,000 with District 214 -- is credited with building a struggling Prospect choir program into a multigroup powerhouse and helping lead the school's football team to two state titles. In 2002, he was hailed by the village of Mount Prospect as being the Toast of the Town.

Things changed when allegations surfaced in 2005 that he'd touched and kissed a choir student, carried on months of at times graphic correspondence via cell phone text messages, and lashed out at her when she tried to pull away.

Krigas is slated to be released from jail in January, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.

Glink said his client, now a college student, still suffers from something similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.