School Sexual Abuse Lawyer to Represent Former Student in Lawsuit Against CPS
School sexual abuse lawyer and Lane Brown, LLC managing partner Mark Brown, along with associates Oliver Shindler and Noah Brown, are representing a former Farragut Career Academy student in a high-profile lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
The complaint alleges that CPS failed to conduct a proper background check before hiring Romel Campoverde as a security guard. Campoverde now faces 11 criminal charges related to the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old student in 2022.
The lawsuit, filed in August, 2025, in Cook County Circuit Court, was brought forth by the survivor, referred to as Jane Doe, who was a sophomore at the time of the alleged assaults. It contends that CPS ignored Campoverde’s 16 prior arrests and known gang affiliations before placing him in a position of trust. The case has drawn sharp criticism toward CPS’s failure to follow its own hiring protocols – an issue that many school safety advocates say is systemic and deeply concerning.
Chicago school sexual abuse lawyer Mark Brown says CPS acted recklessly by stopping at a surface-level background check.
“Mr. Campoverde was given a scant background check, where they only simply got a list from law enforcement of his convictions and arrests,” says Brown. “They didn’t delve into that further. The arrests and convictions alone should have given them pause on hiring Mr. Campoverde to be in a position of trust and to protect students. But then they stopped, and they failed to take any other action in order to investigate any of the underlying complaints made.”
The lawsuit also asserts that CPS failed to obtain police reports linked to Campoverde’s prior arrests, which included detailed allegations of violent and dangerous conduct. These reports, obtained independently by Lane Brown, LLC, further demonstrate the district’s failures.
Brown further emphasized the broader implications of CPS’s failure to exercise safe hiring practices in a statement:
“Any parent, and really any citizen of Chicago, should be concerned when CPS knows that it has a major problem with sexual assault and inappropriate relationships … [but] is only looking at the surface of convictions and arrests and not looking at underlying behavior patterns.”
As a leading Chicago school sexual abuse lawyer, Mark Brown has handled numerous cases involving misconduct in educational institutions and says this case exemplifies a dangerous pattern of ignoring red flags when hiring individuals tasked with student safety.
CPS declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing ongoing litigation, but said in a brief statement that the district remains committed to student well-being.
Lane Brown, LLC and its team of school sexual abuse lawyers are pursuing justice for the survivor and working to ensure CPS is held accountable – not just for this incident but to prevent similar cases in the future.
We encourage anyone with information about the case to contact Lane Brown, LLC at (312) 332-1400 or through our website contact form.
About Lane Brown, LLC
Lane Brown, LLC is a Chicago-based law firm focused on representing victims of personal injury, institutional negligence, and abuse. The firm is known for securing large settlements and trial verdicts in child sexual abuse cases involving public institutions, including schools and government agencies.
