By Beth Hundsdorfer
Belleville News-Democrat
June 13, 2011
http://www.bnd.com/2011/06/13/1746324/judge-releasemeetingrecords-case.html
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A lawyer for the alleged sexual assault victim at the hands of a former Freeburg school superintendent wants to know what school board members knew about the case.
Michael Weilmuenster, the victim's lawyer in a civil suit against the Freeburg School District 70, sought decades of closed session minutes of school board meetings to determine if former school board members or superintendents knew about the alleged abuse by then-superintendent Robin Hawkins. Weilmuenster also wants to know whether the board knew if there are additional victims.
The school board balked.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Wilkerson reviewed a sample of the minutes in private and determined they should be turned over to Weilmuenster.
" ... The Court has carefully weighed the competing interests, and concludes that Plaintiff's need for the evidence contained in the minutes of the closed session board meetings substantially outweighs the policy underlying the (Open Meetings Act)," wrote Wilkerson. "In order for the (victim) to pursue his claims, he must ascertain whether (the school district and former superintendents) had knowledge of prior reports of misconduct or abuse of minor students by Robin Hawkins or any other district agent or employee and how Defendants responded to such reports."
"These minutes will reveal whether there have been discussions in those closed sessions about reports or claims of sexual abuse by Hawkins or anyone else for that matter," Weilmuenster said. "It will show when they knew and what they did about it, if anything."
Jennifer Barbieri, the lawyer representing the school district, cited a protective order that she said forbids lawyers from commenting on the case.
Weilmuenster is the same lawyer who won a $5 million verdict against the Belleville Catholic Diocese in connection with sexual abuse to a minor by the Rev. Raymond Kownacki.
This time, Weilmuenster is suing a school district that he says failed to protect his client from Hawkins, a former teacher, coach, counselor and superintendent. Weilmuenster alleged the Hawkins blindfolded the boy, who is identified in the suit by the pseudonym John Doe, bound his hands and molested him.
Weilmuenster also alleged in the suit that former superintendents Clarence Haege and Lawrence Meggs engaged in an agreement with Hawkins not to report sexual abuse to police or state child protection agencies. The district and superintendents denied the charges.
Hawkins committed suicide 20 days after he was interviewed by Illinois State Police, who were investigating allegation of sexual abuse. He was found sitting in the driver's seat of his 1964 Mustang convertible parked in his barn near Belleville. ISP reports showed five possible victims, including a minor who was interviewed after Hawkins suicide.
Weilmuenster sought minutes of the closed board meetings since 1977 when Hawkins joined the district. The district turned over the minutes of the open board meetings from 1977 to present. The district asserted that they only had the minutes of closed meetings from 1983 and objected to their release, stating they are protected under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
Under Illinois law, board members can meet in private to discuss personnel matters, contract negotiations, legal issues and security, but the board is required to review minutes of closed meetings semi-annually to determine whether confidentiality is still necessary.
Wilkerson reviewed a sample of the closed meeting minutes and ordered they be released to Weilmuenster last month.
The records are to be released July 8.
The case is set for trial Jan. 17 in Benton.
Contact reporter Beth Hundsdorfer at bhundsdorfer@bnd.com or 239-2570.
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