After rejecting plea deal, ex-Chicago Public Schools dean faces trial for sexually assaulting student

A former Chicago Public Schools dean accused of sexually assaulting a student has asked a judge to decide his case after rejecting an offer to plead guilty to a lesser charge when he learned he would have to register for life as a sex offender.

Brian Crowder, 41, is expected to go on trial in October before Judge Stanley Sacks.

In June, Crowder stood before a different judge in the same courtroom and said he would be pleading guilty to a count of sexual abuse in exchange for prosecutors dropping six other counts, including aggravated sexual assault, a Class X felony.

Under the plea agreement, Crowder would have been released on probation.

During the hearing, Crowder got as far as entering a guilty plea, only for Crowder and his attorney to ask for a break when prosecutors announced that Crowder would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

After a break, Crowder’s attorney told Judge Mary Anna Planey that they had understood the registration period would be for only a decade and asked for a continuance in the case. Planey, who was substituting for Sacks that day, then vacated Crowder’s plea.

During the hearing, Planey said she would go along with prosecutor’s probation recommendation, but noted that judges do not have to follow plea agreements for sentencing. Prosecutors said that the maximum sentence for the Class 2 felony was 15 years.

Standing before Sacks on Tuesday, Crowder said he wanted a bench trial, where Sacks will listen to the evidence and issue a verdict instead of a jury. The trial was set for Oct. 3.

An assistant state’s attorney said his office would keep the offer on the table for an additional week in case Crowder changed his mind.

“No, you won’t,” Sacks replied. “Either he wants it or he doesn’t want it.”

Crowder’s attorney replied that his client “doesn’t know” if he wants to take the deal.

It was not immediately clear if the judge would allow the agreement to go forward if Crowder changes his mind again.

If convicted of the aggravated assault charge, Crowder would face a mandatory prison sentence of up to several decades behind bars.

An attorney for the former student who Crowder is accused of assaulting said he anticipated the young woman would testify at trial. The now 24-year-old woman also has a pending civil suit against Crowder and Chicago Public Schools over her allegations.

She was a student at the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice and was between the ages of 15 and 17 when Crowder assaulted her on several occasions, leading her to become pregnant in 2014, prosecutors have alleged.

Crowder was employed as dean of students at the school at the time and brought her to get an abortion, posing as her stepfather in order to sign the consent forms and pay for the procedure, prosecutors have said.

He allegedly did the same when she became pregnant again a year later.

She reported the allegations to Chicago police in 2021 and Crowder was removed from his position shortly.