Overview

• After closing arguments Wednesday, jurors began deliberating Crowder’s multiple felony sex charges.
• The 43-year-old former dean rejected a plea deal requiring sex-offender registration and up to six years in prison and now faces seven counts, including two aggravated sexual assault charges.
• The victim testified that Crowder groomed her via Snapchat when she was 15, coerced two abortions by posing as her stepfather and manipulated her emotionally.
• Prosecutors describe his authority as dean of discipline as an aggravating factor while defense attorneys have challenged the victim’s credibility and alleged extortion efforts.
• Crowder’s case has intensified scrutiny of Chicago Public Schools’ response to staff misconduct following a 2018 Tribune investigation and a 2024 lawsuit, and CPS records show he was removed in 2021.