Arrested Coach Faced Complaints But Cleared Of Wrongdoing At ETHS

Evanston IL

01 November, 2021

3:16 PM

Description

EVANSTON, IL — The suspended color guard coach at Evanston Township High School awaiting trial on a charge of child seduction in Indiana was the subject of an internal district investigation in Evanston earlier this year, records show. Lorenzo Medrano, 63, of Chicago, is accused of fondling a 16-year-old girl between October 2019 and March 2020 while working at La Porte High School. He was arrested Sept. 15, posted $750 bail, and is due back in La Porte County Court on Dec. 8. The next day, Chief Human Resources Officer Toya Campbell notified Medrano that he would be suspended pending the outcome of the Indiana police investigation. As Patch reported last week, Campbell was herself placed on paid leave without explanation on Oct. 6. Medrano began working at ETHS in August 2016, receiving annual stipends that began at about $3,600 for the 2016-17 school year before rising to nearly $11,000 for the 2019-20 school year, when he was a marching band assistant and a color guard/marching band instructor, according to records obtained by Evanston Patch through a public records request. In March 2021, Medrano's conduct was the subject of an internal district investigation after female students complained to a dean and school social worker, according to a trio of partially redacted incident reports obtained by Patch. "Mr. Medrano created an unhealthy environment for the students on Color Guard over the last three years," the dean reported being told. "[The student] is not going to participate in Color Guard this year." The students alleged that Medrano had inappropriately placed his hands on the teens to position them while practicing. "[Another student] stated that Mr. Medrano would offer kids on the Color Guard team rides home after practice. During practices, he would place his hands on the dancer to move and/or position them without letting them know that he would be placing his hands on them. It would startle [the student] and some of her teammates," according to another report by the dean. "During performances, the girls would be in a classroom where they would be getting ready and changing and Lorenzo would walk in unannounced. He would tell the girls, 'Don't worry, I've seen it all before,'" the report said. "He would play music and tell the team that he wanted them to feel sexy while dancing and ... [Five redacted lines.] Sometimes he would talk about Canadian girls that he dated that he may have taught. ... [Two redacted lines.]" Lorenzo Medrano, 63, of Chicago, faces a class 6 felony charge of child seduction in La Porte County, Indiana. (La Porte County Sheriff's Office) Five other pages of investigative and disciplinary records were withheld by ETHS administrators, who said one was submitted by an individual student and the others contain pre-decisional notes. Campbell and Yolanda Hardy, the district's assistant chief human resources officer, who was placed on leave on the same day as her boss, met with Medrano via Zoom on March 30, according to an unsigned document. During the meeting, Medrano denied the accusations and said he did not know why they were being made. On April 9, two other coaches refuted the allegation. Both said Medrano never touched girls below the shoulder and always asked them first, according to the document. One coach said she was the one who was hands-on when it came to positioning students at practice. The other coach reportedly said Medrano never stayed in the same place as the team when traveling and that both female coaches always accompanied the girls while changing clothes, and Medrano was never there. Later that day, Medrano was informed the claims were unfounded, and he could resume coaching ETHS students. There is no indication that the incidents were ever investigated by Evanston police. Medrano did not respond to an inquiry regarding the ETHS investigation and whether he had faced allegations of sexual misconduct anywhere else. School spokespeople have yet respond to questions about the handling of the investigation or how many female students complained about Medrano. Earlier: ETHS Employee Charged With Child Seduction At Indiana School