WEST TOWN — A security guard and volleyball coach at Roberto Clemente Community Academy was arrested at the West Town high school last week after a 14-year-old student told authorities the man had touched her inappropriately on two occasions, police said.
Casino Cruz, 37, who is also a Local School Council member at Clemente, was arrested at 3:15 p.m. on Jan. 10 at the school, 1147 North Western Ave., according to the Chicago police.
Cruz was charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery for allegedly making physical contact with a 14-year-old girl. The teen stated that Cruz "touched her inappropriately" while she was on the school's escalator, police said.
A court clerk said that Cruz was released on his own recognizance on the day he was arrested and is scheduled to be back in court on Feb. 21.
In a letter to parents sent home with students last week, Clemente principal Marcey Sorenson told parents Cruz was suspended from his job after the arrest and will remain so, pending an investigation.
"We treat all allegations of this kind with the utmost caution and urgency," Sorensen wrote in the letter, which did not identify Cruz by name.
According to Max Preps, a high school sports website, Cruz is also the girl's volleyball coach at Clemente, a role he's held since 2012.
Bridget Garcia, a mother of a member of the girl's volleyball team, said she believes the allegations against Cruz will be "thrown out" and that she and other supporters are "troubled" by the accusations.
"I don't have any concerns regarding him. They are vilifying him on social media," Garcia said.
Sorensen declined to discuss specifics of the allegation outside of providing the letter to parents that she said was approved by CPS for distribution. Cruz could not be reached for comment.
Garcia said that Cruz was accused of touching a girl's leg on an escalator. The girl's mom told the school about the alleged incident before the winter break but when her daughter returned to school and Cruz was still there, she called police, said Garcia.
Police would not say what part of the victim's body Cruz allegedly touched.
Garcia, who has known Cruz for two years and serves on the Local School Council with him, described Cruz as "a very involved parent" who is from the neighborhood and graduated from Clemente High School several years ago.
The 14-year-old student, a freshman, told WGN last week that Cruz approached her on an escalator while she was on her way to class. She says Cruz had also touched her inappropriately last month, WGN reported.
In a statement, Chicago Public Schools said the district is "cooperating with law enforcement as it investigates this matter and we will not hesitate to move forward with appropriate disciplinary measures if the allegations are substantiated."
A letter from Local School Council Community Representative L. Alejandro Molina encourage the school community to "stop the kangaroo court of social media."
Molina's letter was posted as a pop-up window on the school's website. Read it, below.
Letter on the school's website. [Roberto Clemente Community Academy website]
Cruz is scheduled to appear in Cook County Court - Branch 43 at 1 p.m. on Feb. 21 at 3150 W. Flournoy St.
