Student accused of abuse transfers to District 203
An Indian Prairie Unit District 204 student accused of sexually abusing a classmate has transferred to Lincoln Junior High School in Naperville.
Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis confirmed the former Gregory Middle School student enrolled at Lincoln on Tuesday and has a parent who is a legal resident of the district.
"We have had several days to work with the parent, student, Lincoln staff, Gregory Middle School staff and to get advice from attorneys and law enforcement officials so we've been able to work together to develop ... a comprehensive plan to make sure everybody is safe at Lincoln," Leis said.
The 12-year-old is one of two students from Gregory in neighboring District 204 charged with felony counts of criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault stemming from an attack on an 11-year-old classmate that police say occurred in November at a home on Naperville's south side.
District 204 leaders have been grappling with how to handle the cry from some parents that the two accused boys be removed from Gregory. One of them remains at Gregory but is required by court order to stay at least 100 feet away from the alleged victim.
District 204 officials said earlier this week the other boy had left the district.
In light of the fact that it has already become a high-profile situation, Leis sent a Talk203 e-mail message to Lincoln Junior High parents Tuesday night informing them the Gregory student would be attending their school.
Reached by phone, he said the district is trying to balance confidentiality issues with the safety of all students. He would not go into detail about plans for handling the matter.
He said parents are welcome to contact him or senior staff with questions or concerns.
"I'm not able to answer every question or detail but we have good staff at Lincoln and a good track record and I'm confident and comfortable that we can maintain safety at Lincoln," he said.
As to the likelihood Lincoln students will notice the new student and know why he is there, Leis called it "one of the most unfortunate parts of this situation."
"Since we're in the public domain and who our students are is in the public domain I feel very badly about that for the individual student involved, but that is the situation," he said. "Given all the facts present here we've got to balance the student's rights with the concerns of the larger community and it's a tricky balance I admit."