A Lakeview woman has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 14-year-old student from a North Side elementary school where she was a teacher in early 2019, according to court records.
Sara Damyan, 34, this week received a sentence of two years probation in exchange for pleading guilty to a single count of criminal sexual abuse by force. Judge Charles Burns oversaw the case.
Last February, prosecutors said Damyan tutored the victim and other Alessandro Volta School students after hours and gave kids her phone number. She was employed as a special education instructor at the school in Albany Park.
Prosecutors said Damyan and the boy exchanged 12,000 text messages and phone calls. The boy began telling Damyan that he had feelings for her and she eventually invited her to her home, which was in the 2400 block of North Kedzie at the time.
At her home, Damyan allegedly gave the boy marijuana-laced tea and cannabis-infused gummy bears. She then sexually assaulted him and later texted him to say that he should not tell anyone about what happened, according to the state’s initial allegations.
The boy returned to her home the next day, and a similar series of events unfolded, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said she smuggled marijuana vaping devices onto school property inside a teddy bear and used them to smoke up with the student.
Damyan allegedly told another adult that the teen was her boyfriend and that they had a sexual relationship. That adult works in a position that requires them to report potential abuse to authorities, and they followed through on that obligation in March 2019.
CPS said they removed Damyan from classroom settings during their investigation, and she left their employment in September 2019.