Twelve employees at Marine Leadership Academy and a school volunteer either committed or covered up sexual misconduct that dates back at least two years, Chicago Public Schools officials announced Friday ahead of the release of an inspector general report.

       Ten adults have been fired or are in the process of being fired stemming from the incidents at the Logan Square school, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez announced.

       “The behavior uncovered by this investigation represents a stunning betrayal of trust and colossal failure of judgment and character on the part of far too many individuals,” Martinez said at Friday’s news conference. “Every student deserves to feel safe, protected and supported in their school. And anything that gets in that way should not be tolerated and will not be tolerated.”

       One case involved a teacher having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student, while another involved a teacher who began a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student “immediately after” graduation, Martinez said. Two adults were accused of grooming or sexually harassing students. Six adults failed to report and “actively hid” the alleged misconduct, Martinez said.

       Three adults remain under investigation for inappropriate personal relationships with students, but “we don’t have evidence of sexual abuse,” Martinez said. All staff members have been removed from Marine Leadership Academy, he said.

       “Taking action against these specific employees is a necessary start, but a greater goal must be to create a culture for every CPS school and every statewide school ... where students can report a situation having full confidence that they will be supported and the adults around them will take the required action as mandatory reporters,” Martinez said.

       Martinez, who began as CEO on Sept. 29, said he was “made aware” on Oct. 20 that Inspector General Will Fletcher was nearing the end of his investigation. CPS officials said the investigation was sparked from an anonymous report made in 2019. Martinez blamed the length of the investigation on insufficient staffing in the inspector general’s office and a “significant backlog of cases.”

       Martinez expressed confidence Marine Leadership Academy’s new principal, Kristin Novy, will rebuild trust. Erin Galfer — the previous principal, who was named deputy chief of the CPS Office of College and Career Success over the summer — was recently fired, Martinez said.

       Marine Leadership Academy, which is affiliated with the U.S. Marine Corps JROTC program, serves 775 students between grades seven through 12, per CPS records.

       Check back for updates on this breaking story.

       tswartz@tribpub.com

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