A Chicago Public School security guard is accused of plying a 15-year-old student with alcohol and raping her in a recreational vehicle he kept in Little Village.
Romel Campoverde, 43, must pay a $10,000 bail deposit to go home on an electronic monitoring bracelet, Judge Ankur Srivastava ruled during a bond hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
Campoverde gave the girl his Snapchat username during her freshman year at Farragut Career Academy, 2345 South Christiana, where he works as a security officer, officials said. They started communicating and meeting outside of school when she was a sophomore.
During one outing, Campoverde took the girl to a mall and bought her a pair of Nike shoes, Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord told the judge. Another time, he gave the girl $40 to have her hair styled. This spring, Campoverde bought the girl alcohol and invited her to his house after the school prom, McCord said.
Campoverde met the girl again on June 25. He took her to McDonald’s and bought eight cans of a tequila-based mix drink. McCord said he “had [the girl] drink six of the cans” while he consumed two.
With the girl heavily intoxicated, Campoverde sexually abused her as he drove around 31st Street Beach, McCord alleged. He then took her to a recreational vehicle parked near 26th and Blue Island.
Inside the RV, Campoverde removed the girl’s shorts and raped her as she told him to stop, McCord said. Two of the girl’s unique press-on nails fell off during the attack. Once she could get outside, she called a friend and told them what happened.
The next day, she confided in a school employee, and a report was filed with the Chicago Police Department. Investigators executed a search warrant on the RV, recovering the girl’s lost press-on nails, towels, and bedding, McCord said. All of the items are being tested.
Campoverde has never been convicted of a felony. He’s charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child between 13 and 17 years old.
