Judge Orders New CPS Investigation of Urban Prep Founder Tim King After Accuser Recants

A Cook County Circuit judge has ordered Chicago Public Schools to start over its investigation into whether Tim King, the founder and former CEO of Urban Prep Charter Schools, committed sexual misconduct. The ruling was released Thursday.

The decision follows a motion filed last month by King's attorney, who said the alleged victim had recanted every accusation. King had been accused of grooming a 16-year-old and then engaging in years of inappropriate sexual activity.

Judge Eve Reilly wrote that King did not receive proper due process in the first investigation. She did not decide whether the recantation is credible, but said it would be "just" for CPS to weigh the new evidence. "Thus, this matter should be remanded to CPS to conduct a new investigation altogether and to contemplate the significance of the former student recanting all allegations," she wrote.

King was named People magazine's hero of the year in 2010 for his charter schools, where virtually all students were Black males and all were admitted to college. After the CPS inspector general found sexual misconduct in 2022, King was barred from working for Urban Prep Academies and from setting foot on its campuses. A do not hire flag was also placed on his personnel file. He sued soon after the finding, asking the court for administrative review.

According to the motion filed in court, the recantation came after the former student had a chance meeting with King on the street. In a sworn statement, the man acknowledged making a series of accusations but now says King did not engage in any grooming or sexual contact while he was a student. He later worked for Urban Prep and says King "never sexually harassed or sexually discriminated against me." He also says King never engaged in forced or quid-pro-quo sexual contact with him.

"At the time, my statements were not truthful, and I now understand the serious harm they caused," the statement reads. "I want to state unequivocally that my accusations against Tim King were entirely false. I am recanting them fully and voluntarily because they do not reflect the truth."

CPS attorneys told the court the recantation was immaterial, arguing the case turned on whether new due process rules should apply retroactively. The district said protections King sought, such as being told of the allegations, responding to them and having chances to prove them untrue, were adopted after the alleged misconduct and so did not apply. Reilly disagreed, writing that if some of the accused are allowed more due process, "then it is due everyone."

CPS said it does not comment on pending investigations or litigation. King and his attorney also declined to comment. His lawyers have long called the original inquiry a "kangaroo" investigation full of holes.

Urban Prep has faced other troubles. A 2022 CPS memo described financial strain, including trouble making payroll, reliance on cash advances from the district, and use of credit cards and high-interest loans. The inspector general also opened inquiries into how the schools were allowed to keep operating and whether Urban Prep committed fraud in applying for a $3.1 million federal Paycheck Protection Program loan. WBEZ reported in January that federal investigators subpoenaed records of reimbursement payments to King and emails from his official account. No criminal charges have been filed.

The network has shrunk sharply. At its height it enrolled 1,500 students across three campuses on the South and West sides. CPS sought to take over the schools in October 2022, but Urban Prep sued and won. It now runs two schools with fewer than 200 students combined.