Records show Thornton Fractional High School District 215 began investigating a former teacher and wrestling coach more than a year before he was charged with sexual assault of high school students.
Andre Richmond was charged Jan. 8 with criminal sexual assault and child pornography involving two high school students after being arrested by Lansing police.
His twin brother, Aaron Richmond, who also taught and coached wrestling in the district, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse in December 2024, after being arrested by Glenwood police.
The 32-year-olds have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Attorneys have filed motions for discovery to obtain prosecutors’ evidence against the brothers. Aaron Richmond’s attorney, Steven Mondry, declined to comment.
District 215 first began investigating Andre Richmond’s behavior toward students in January 2023 and Aaron Richmond’s behavior in May 2024, district records show.
Andre Richmond was hired as a math teacher at T.F. South in August 2021 and as a volunteer assistant wrestling coach for the school the following month. He was promoted to assistant wrestling coach in July 2022.
He also began co-sponsoring the school’s E-Sports Club in September 2022 and began sponsoring the school’s Anime Club in August 2023.
Aaron Richmond was hired as a math teacher at T.F. North in July 2022 and as the school’s assistant athletic director in April 2023.
Andre Richmond
District 215 personnel records show Andre Richmond was first informed that he was under investigation Jan. 12, 2023, after the district received a report via its See Something, Say Something web link about an alleged sexual relationship between Richmond and a 16-year-old student in December 2021.
Then T.F. South Principal Jacob Gourley told Richmond he was being placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, according to emails the Daily Southtown obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Richmond was instructed to attend a fact-finding meeting regarding the allegations the following week. He was advised to refrain from directly contacting district students and staff until the investigation concluded.
Gourley informed Richmond Feb. 2, 2023, that the allegations were determined to not be credible. Gourley wrote in an email that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Lansing Police Department conducted their own investigations and came to the same conclusion.
“In addition, the anonymous claimant reached out and admitted that statements originally submitted to the district were erroneously submitted and/or fabricated,” Gourley said.
But Gourley raised concerns the district learned that over the course of its investigation the claimant had reached out to Richmond multiple times, “making demands and threatening to report the alleged behaviors to authorities.”
“It is of paramount importance that if anyone makes damaging threats or claims that you immediately inform administration,” Gourley wrote.
The district also found emails students sent to Richmond “sharing domestic issues and admissions of drug use,” that Richmond claimed he did not remember reading, the email said.
Gourley told Richmond he must check his email daily and inform staff when students reach out with those types of issues, the emails show.
Gourley also raised concerns about Richmond’s boundaries with students, saying students “should not feel comfortable, for example, addressing you as ‘Bro’ instead of ‘Mr. Richmond.’”
Andre Richmond met both of the students he allegedly abused in his geometry class, prosecutors said. The first student, who was 16, reported abuse occurring between December 2021 and May 2022, after she and Richmond began messaging on social media.
Prosecutors said the online relationship between teacher and student evolved during the school’s winter break, with Andre Richmond booking a room at the Red Roof Hotel in Lansing and taking the student there.
Richmond met the student about eight times, and on one occasion in April 2022 requested to record their session on the student’s phone via Snapchat to be sent to him, according to prosecutors.
Investigators received the videos through a search warrant to Snapchat and from Richmond’s cellphone, prosecutors said.
The next district investigation into Richmond’s conduct began in September 2023, when Gourley asked him to attend another fact-finding meeting to obtain information about “inappropriate crossing of boundaries” with a student.
An email from Gourley invited Richmond to a subsequent fact-finding meeting May 22, 2024, as part of a district investigation. Richmond was placed on administrative leave May 29, 2024, according to personnel records.
Another meeting was scheduled for June 3, and Richmond resigned on June 4.
“Thank you for a great experience,” Richmond wrote in an email sent to April Jerger, the district’s chief human resources specialist.
Richmond was charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student in his classroom between March and June 2024. Prosecutors said he instructed the student not to tell anyone about the abuse “or her grades would suffer.”
A parent of the student filed a lawsuit against Richmond and Thornton Fractional High School District 215, alleging the district previously investigated and suspended Richmond for similar behavior.
Richmond told the student to sit in the desk next to his and would occasionally ask her to sit with him at his own desk, according to prosecutors. On multiple occasions during class, Richmond allegedly used opportunities where other students weren’t paying attention to place his hand on the student and rub her inner thigh, prosecutors said.
Richmond also allegedly forced the student to hug him before allowing her to leave his class and contacted her through social media, at one point inviting her to his house for a sleepover, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the student refused Richmond’s advances and met with the school social worker in August 2024, disclosing the abuse. The social worker filed a report with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Aaron Richmond
T.F. North Principal Brian Rucinski notified Aaron Richmond that he was being placed on paid administrative leave May 16, 2024, emails obtained by the Daily Southtown show.
The following day, Richmond received an email inviting him to a fact-finding meeting May 20. Based on his responses and evidence gathered during the investigation, he was suspended without pay on May 29, 2024, records show.
In a letter to Richmond, former interim Superintendent John Robinzine said he planned to recommend Richmond’s dismissal at an upcoming board meeting.
“Your actions have greatly distressed several students, interfered with students’ education, affected their well-being and disrupted the learning environment,” Robinzine said.
Robinzine’s letter stated that among actions justifying Richmond’s dismissal were grooming of a student, having inappropriate physical contact with students, sexually harassing students, exhibiting behavior unbecoming of a teacher, failing to follow district police and procedures and failing to cooperate with the administration’s investigation, “including making false, inaccurate or deliberately incomplete statements.”
Richmond was asked to attend a disciplinary meeting June 13, 2024, which he did not attend. He was then directed to attend an investigatory meeting June 24 and told if he did not participate, consequences could include his dismissal.
Richmond resigned from the district June 23.
Prosecutors said Richmond picked up a student from her home in March 2024 under the pretense he was taking her to a wrestling tournament in Springfield, but drove to his former home in Glenwood claiming he had to pack, they said.
Richmond invited the girl inside, but shortly after entering the residence he sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said. Richmond then drove the girl to the wrestling match and told her not to tell anyone what had happened, prosecutors said.
In May, the school contacted the girl’s mother after the girl wrote a paper on inappropriate contact between staff and students, prosecutors said. After school staff investigated the paper, the girl told a staff member about the assault by Aaron Richmond, prosecutors said. The girl’s mother later found a picture the girl accidentally took of herself while Richmond was assaulting her, they said.
The girl filed for an order of protection against Richmond in May, court records show. Three of the girl’s friends later told police that she told them what had happened to her, prosecutors said.
The next court date in Andre Richmond’s case is at 9 a.m. on March 17 at the Markham courthouse while Aaron Richmond’s next court date is March 12.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
