The family of a South Elgin middle school student who suffered serious injuries in an in-school attack two weeks ago is taking Elgin-area School District U46 to court in an effort to find out more about what happened.
The petition filed in Kane County Circuit Court also describes for the first time the attack that left the teen with injuries that kept him hospitalized for five days and created an outpouring of support that included attention from Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo tweets support to 7th-grader badly injured at South Elgin school WGN-TV
As a South Elgin seventh-grader recovers from a vicious attack by a classmate, the avid Cubs fan is getting support from ace first baseman Anthony Rizzo as well as hundreds of people who have donated thousands of dollars to help his family.Henry Sembdner suffered facial fractures and injuries to…
As a South Elgin seventh-grader recovers from a vicious attack by a classmate, the avid Cubs fan is getting support from ace first baseman Anthony Rizzo as well as hundreds of people who have donated thousands of dollars to help his family.Henry Sembdner suffered facial fractures and injuries to…
(WGN-TV)
The family of the seventh-grade student is requesting more information and records from School District U46 on what transpired in the hallways of Kenyon Woods Middle School on Feb. 3.
"What I can say is he went to school a happy, healthy seventh-grader and ended it in a coma," said attorney Lance Northcutt, who filed the complaint on behalf of the family of Henry Sembdner. "Right now the family hasn’t had success figuring out what happened and why."
The request falls under an Illinois Supreme Court rule that allows one party side to seek information from the another without filing a lawsuit, said Northcutt.
According to the petition, they want U46 to disclose electronically stored information, documents, records, memos, video, photos and other items regarding the attack and the attacker.
One of the primary questions the family has regards the gap between when the assault allegedly happened and when the school called 911. Northcutt said phone records suggest the gap to be between 25 minutes and an hour.
Boy, 12, assaulted by classmate in South Elgin is back home Tribune staff with news services
A 12-year-old boy who suffered serious head injuries after being assaulted by a classmate at his South Elgin middle school has returned home from the hospital.”You heard it here first … Henry is Home!” the boy’s mother, Karen Sembdner, tweeted Tuesday night, along with a photo showing her son…
A 12-year-old boy who suffered serious head injuries after being assaulted by a classmate at his South Elgin middle school has returned home from the hospital.”You heard it here first … Henry is Home!” the boy’s mother, Karen Sembdner, tweeted Tuesday night, along with a photo showing her son…
(Tribune staff with news services)
According to the petition, another student picked up Henry and "immobilized him in such a manner that he could not escape."
The student then, "savagely attacked him by throwing him to the ground headfirst and/or striking him in the face and head," according to the petition.
The petition states the attack occurred in an area believed to be without security cameras. The injured boy was taken to the school nurse, who called his mother to notify her he was involved in an altercation that left him with a bloody nose and broken tooth. However, he had suffered additional severe trauma to his brain and had fractures to his face and skull, the complaint said.
Emergency responders were called when they noticed the boy’s eye swell and become nauseous. Once responders arrived and took him to a nearby hospital, he began to suffer from seizures and once hospitalized went into a coma, the complaint said.
School district officials have so far declined to release information about the timing of the assault and the calls. When asked about their communications with the family and their legal representation, district spokeswoman Mary Fergus said the district is "in communication and discussions with the petitioner’s counsel and we’re reviewing their counsel’s request for information."
Big-league boost, community support for South Elgin middle school assault victim Rafael Guerrero and Ted Gregory
Hours after many in the Elgin School District U-46 community wore green — the color of healing — for a seventh-grader severely injured in a South Elgin school assault, the victim got a big-league boost.
“Hear you are a big Cubs fan, Henry,” Chicago Cubs All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo tweeted…
Hours after many in the Elgin School District U-46 community wore green — the color of healing — for a seventh-grader severely injured in a South Elgin school assault, the victim got a big-league boost.
“Hear you are a big Cubs fan, Henry,” Chicago Cubs All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo tweeted…
(Rafael Guerrero and Ted Gregory)
Since the incident, people in the school community and beyond have sent messages of strength to the boy via social media. Students throughout U46 dressed up one week in clothing honoring Henry’s favorite things such as the Cubs, Batman and Superman. Rizzo, meanwhile, personally invited him to Wrigley Field once the season starts.
Two Gofundme accounts created to help his family cover medical costs have so far raised more than $48,000.
raguerrero@tribpub.com
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