District 65 board votes to dismiss administrator charged with sex crimes

(Editor’s Notes: This story was updated at 11:23 a.m. Tuesday, March 3.)

Washington Elementary School’s assistant principal, who was arrested in February for allegedly sexually abusing juveniles, is no longer employed at Evanston-Skokie Consolidated School District 65, barring a successful appeal.

The D65 Board of Education voted unanimously on Feb. 23 to suspend and dismiss Carlos Mendez, 51, The Record has learned via public records. The district did not immediately disclose the identity of the dismissed staff member.

Documents The Record obtained Monday following a public-records request confirm that the dismissed administrator was Mendez, a tenured administrator at Washington Elementary who was arrested on Feb. 5 on suspicion of child sex crimes. 

The resolution the board approved states that Mendez has been suspended without pay, and his dismissal will become effective pending the conclusion of a now-initiated process. 

The Illinois School Code and D65 board policy gives Mendez 17 days — in this case, until March 12 — to request a hearing before the Illinois State Board of Education, a statement Superintendent Angel Turner sent to the D65 community on Monday states. 

The board’s decision will be “affirmed as provided by law, or in the event that Mr. Mendez does not request a hearing within the time provided by law, immediately upon the expiration of the time to request a hearing,” the resolution states. 

“You engaged in immoral, irremediable and cruel conduct that has damaged your reputation as a teacher and administrator in the school community, damaged the reputation of the School District, and caused harm to the students of the School District,” a notice signed by Pat Anderson, president of the D65 board, said. 

Additional timeline information

Chicago police arrested Mendez and another D65 employee, Maribel Flores-Hernandez, 34, at Mendez’s Chicago home on suspicion of child sexual assault that allegedly involved the “coordination of grooming and coercion,” a judge wrote. 

The two had outstanding warrants from Florida, where some of the sexual abuse allegedly occurred during a June 2025 vacation. Mendez and Flores-Hernandez, a paraprofessional at Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center in Evanston, reportedly were dating.

Mendez and Flores-Hernadez, through their respective attorneys, have said they are innocent of the charges and plan to fight them. 

Turner reaffirmed in her Monday statement that it is the “District’s understanding that the findings do not involve any current or former students and are not related to Mr. Mendez’s professional duties as a District administrator.”

According to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the sexual assaults were domestic and involved two juvenile victims.

The resolution the D65 board approved on Feb. 23 states the district put Mendez on leave on Oct. 28, 2025 — the same day the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services notified the district it was investigating a report of “Suspected Child Abuse and/or Neglect” involving Mendez. 

Mendez has not been inside D65 schools since Oct. 28, 2025, Turner wrote; however, the district did not inform parents of the ongoing investigation at that time.

In February 2026, the district contacted DCFS regarding the status of its investigation into Mendez and requested relevant documents in writing, Turner wrote. 

On Feb. 14, 2026, DCFS provide the district documents from its investigation, including the “issuance of indicated findings against Mr. Mendez of sexual exploitation and substantial risk of sexual abuse. Upon receipt, the District began the process seeking dismissal,” Turner wrote. 

DCFS apparently “found sufficient evidence to issue indicated findings of abuse against you based on these allegations,” on or about Dec. 23, 2025, the board wrote Mendez. 

The board noted that DCFS also found “sufficient and credible evidence” that Mendez was a “significant danger” to other children.

Mendez “failed to notify the District of the issuance by DCFS of indicated findings against you of sexual exploitation and substantial risk of sexual abuse,” the board wrote. 

“This matter is deeply disturbing and does not meet the high standards of professionalism, responsibility, and conduct required of all staff. We will continue to have social work services available to students along with support for staff as communicated,” Turner wrote. 

Flores-Hernandez still employed by D65, ‘blindsided’ by allegations

Turner noted in her statement that it is the district’s understanding that its separate investigation into Mendez and Flores-Hernandez “remains ongoing.”

The district placed Flores-Hernandez on leave on Jan. 16, 2026 — the same day DCFS reportedly notified the district that she was part of a subsequent investigation that involved Mendez, a statement Turner sent to D65 parents on Feb. 20, said. 

Flores-Hernandez is still employed by D65 and is still on leave; the DCFS investigation into her alleged abuse “is still ongoing,” Dillow affirmed. 

The board voted unanimously on Jan. 26, 2026 to dismiss an “educational support staff member,” but a public-records request shows that person was not Flores-Hernandez. 

Mendez’s attorney, John Curnyn, told the Evanston RoundTable that Mendez will fight the criminal charges, but did not respond to The Record’s repeated requests for comment. 

Juneitha Shambee, an attorney for Flores-Hernandez, stated that her client maintains her innocence in all allegations made against her. 

“She’s going to fight all of the allegations vigorously; she’s going to defend herself in these matters,” Shambee said. “She’s said that this has happened to her, she doesn’t understand why this is happening but she, again, maintains her innocence on these allegations and she’s going to fight to the end.”

Shambee added, “It is very early on in these cases so there’s very little to go from other than my client was blindsided by the allegations. She doesn’t know where they came from and she’s going to fight them.”

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