The mother of a disabled Cook County adult is suing the Lombard school responsible for her daughter’s welfare, alleging negligence in a traumatic experience involving sexual abuse.
Christine Waller filed a lawsuit June 20 on behalf of Nora Waller against School of Expressive Arts and Learning Inc. (SEAL) in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging negligence in the 2014 incident.
According to the complaint, Nora Waller was enrolled at SEAL’s campus in Lombard, and the school was informed of the need for Waller's continuous supervision and that she posed a risk to herself and others if not continuously supervised.
The suit says Waller was left unattended July 23, 2014, was allowed to leave the building unaccompanied, wandering the facilities unmonitored, and that once administrators discovered she was missing, they did not contact the police or her mother for more than one hour. Christine Waller alleges that once informed she immediately alerted the police, who searched for the missing woman using bloodhounds and a helicopter.
The lawsuit states Nora Waller was found at 9 p.m that day at a motel in Villa Park, where she had been sexually abused by a person who picked her up outside of the school.
The plaintiff charges the defendant with willful failure to supervise, monitor and protect her daughter and refusal to involve her and local authorities immediately.
Christine Waller seeks judgment in excess of the minimum jurisdictional amount, plus attorney fees and costs. She is represented by attorney David Rashid of Burke Wise Morrissey & Kaveny in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 2015L007374.