Bennett Haeberle to Expose Full Details in Upcoming ‘NBC 5 Investigates’ Series “LESSONS IN BETRAYAL” (Mon, May 19 – Wed, May 21 at 10pm CT)
Chicago, IL (May 15, 2025) – Beginning Monday, May 19, NBC 5 Chicago will deliver an unprecedented NBC 5 Investigates series – “Lessons in Betrayal” – uncovering the startling allegations behind a months-long investigation of grooming and sexual misconduct inside a Chicago Public high school over the past decade-plus. The three-part “Lesson in Betrayal” series will air Monday, May 19 – Wednesday, May 21 on NBC 5 News at 10pm.
In this eye-opening NBC 5 Investigates series, NBC 5’s Bennett Haeberle uncovered records and allegations from several former students, who say teachers or administrators groomed them over a period of years – all at one high school campus.
The former students say sexual encounters happened either in high school or shortly after graduation. Most of these teachers resigned while the internal investigation into their alleged misconduct has dragged on inside the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and its Sexual Allegations Unit (SAU) for more than three years.
CPS’s ongoing struggles with claims of sexual abuse by its staff were highlighted by both the Chicago Tribune in its 2018 investigation “Betrayed” and by the Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights, which entered into an agreement with CPS in 2019 to make course corrections.
As part of its efforts to address these increasing concerns, the OIG created the SAU, which CPS states on its website as being “the only independent investigative body in the nation with jurisdiction over a broad range of sexual misconduct complaints and related allegations involving K-12 school-based staff and students.”
Through its months of expanded, detailed research, NBC 5 Investigates found the SAU has struggled with both high caseloads and considerable turnover among its staff. Haeberle and the NBC 5 Investigates team’s reporting raises questions about whether this has created bottlenecks and further delayed investigations into severe teacher misconduct.
“This is a compelling and important series for anyone to watch,” said Sally Ramirez, Senior Vice President of News, NBC Chicago/Telemundo Chicago. “Bennett and our dedicated ‘NBC 5 Investigates’ team spent months gathering hundreds of records and interviewing these former students who share their stories. We hope our series shines a light on this serious issue and the gaps that exist in Illinois law.”
Please note the following segment details on the upcoming NBC 5 Investigates “Lessons in Betrayal” series airing Mon, May 19 through Wed, May 21 on NBC 5 News at 10pm:
MONDAY, MAY 19
Part I: Bennett Haeberle opens up the three-part series uncovering detailed allegations of grooming and sexual misconduct inside a Chicago high school campus occurring over the past ten-plus years. Haeberle speaks with several former students who share their difficult stories and explain why they feel the system failed them.
TUESDAY, MAY 20
Part II: In the second segment, NBC 5 Investigates will speak with a former investigator inside the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Inspector General who investigated these allegations. She’ll address why completing this investigation should be prioritized.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21
Part III: In the final “Lessons in Betrayal” segment, Haeberle looks at history of problems in CPS and the gaps in Illinois law.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Telemundo Chicago’s Investiga unit, featuring reporter Santiago Gallego, will also carry expanded stories on this disturbing topic in its upcoming, two-part “Confianza Traicionada” series airing in June (dates TBA).
- In addition to traditional viewing options, viewers can also watch NBC 5 News at 10pm on the NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 live streaming channel on Peacock, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo Play, Google Play, Freevee, TCLtv+ and Local Now. Fans can also watch NBC 5 News via NBCChicago.com and the NBC Chicago app.
NBCUniversal Local Chicago, a division of NBCUniversal, is the home of NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) and Telemundo Chicago (WSNS-TV). Together, the duopoly serves diverse English- and Spanish-speaking audiences in the third largest U.S. television market. The NBC and Telemundo owned stations deliver the latest local news, consumer and investigative reports across multiple linear, streaming and digital platforms, along Chicago’s most accurate forecast, extensive local sports coverage, a range of original documentaries and series and entertainment/lifestyle content on “Chicago Today.” All original content is available on-air, digitally via NBCChicago.com, TelemundoChicago.com and on the stations’ mobile apps, as well as the NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 live streaming channel, which is available for viewing on Peacock, Roku and Samsung TV and numerous steaming platforms, as well as free apps available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Jeff Nuich
jeff.nuich@nbcuni.com
