Child sexual abuse in Illinois Juvenile Detention Center It was widespread and systemic for decades, according to disturbing details in a lawsuit filed Monday by 95 men and women who were held as children in youth centers.
The lawsuit details alleged incidents of abuse from 1996 to 2017, including gang rape, forced oral sex, beatings and molestation of children by corrections officers, sergeants, nurses, physicians, a chaplain and others at nine youth centers. . Many plaintiffs said they were intimidated or rewarded for remaining silent.
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“The State of Illinois has allowed a culture of abuse to flourish unchecked in Illinois youth centers,” the 186-page complaint says.
The lawsuit, filed in the Illinois Court of Claims, follows similar horrific allegations of child sexual abuse in juvenile detention centers in Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire, California and the United States. New York City, Some cases went to trial or were settled; There have been very few arrests.
The office building at 100 North Western Avenue, shown Monday, May 6, 2024, in Chicago, houses an office of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. Child sexual abuse in Illinois juvenile detention centers was widespread and systemic for decades, according to disturbing accounts in a lawsuit filed Monday by 95 men and women who were held as children in youth centers. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Illinois lawsuit argues that the state failed to monitor, discipline, remove or investigate the alleged abusers, allowing the abuse to continue. The complaint alleges the abuse occurred at youth centers across the state, including Chicago, Joliet, Harrisburg, Murphysboro and Warrenville. Many locations have since closed.
The lawsuit names the state of Illinois, the state Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice as defendants. It seeks damages of approximately $2 million per plaintiff, the maximum allowable under the law.
Messages left Monday with the governor’s office and both corrections agencies were not immediately returned.
The 95 plaintiffs are among hundreds of victims of sexual abuse in Illinois detention centers, said Jerome H. Block, the lawyer who brought the case, who expects to file more lawsuits. His firm has helped bring lawsuits in Maryland, New Jersey and New York City.
“The same people who were tasked with keeping our clients safe when they were children are the same people who were sexually abusing them,” Block said. “This is long-term institutional sexual abuse.”
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to be identified or decide to tell their stories publicly.
The lawsuit names three of the 95 plaintiffs, including Jeffrey Christian of Maywood, who said it was important to come forward publicly because he felt it could help others who may be suffering in silence.
36 year old suburban chicago man He said he was sexually abused in two different detention centers when he was about 13, including by a counselor who touched and fondled him during counseling sessions.
Like many plaintiffs, Christian said the abuse was reported at the time, but facility administrators did nothing to address it. She said reporting the abuse resulted in her being further targeted. After the events, he became withdrawn and antisocial.
“It made me see the world differently,” he said. “It took some of the light out of me.”
At least six detention center personnel were identified by separate plaintiffs as alleged repeat offenders with separate allegations. Some alleged perpetrators are named in the lawsuit, while others are identified only because plaintiffs remember them by physical characteristics, initials, or nicknames. Most plaintiffs are identified by the initials of the complaint.
Among other things, the complaint alleges the state’s use of strip searches as unconstitutional and systemic, leading to sexual exploitation.
The complaint states, “The State of Illinois has known about this type of abuse for decades and yet has neglected to protect its confined youth from sexual exploitation and failed to implement necessary policies to ensure such protection Is.”
It cites a 2013 U.S. Department of Justice survey of incarcerated youth that found Illinois was one of the four worst states nationwide for sexual abuse in detention facilities. It also cites nearly half a dozen criminal cases from 2000 to 2021 where youth center employees were convicted of sexually abusing children and allegations that the abuse continues today.
Criminal charges are not out of the realm of possibility in some recent cases. Although there is no longer a statute of limitations on crimes related to sexual exploitation of minors that occur after January 1, 2020, there remains a 20-year statute of limitations on alleged crimes committed before then, making criminal charges less likely to occur in cases where alleged There may be a possibility. As long ago as 2004.
Many plaintiffs said their abusers threatened them with violence, solitary confinement, transfer to harsh facilities, and long sentences if they reported the abuse. Others were given extra food, money in their commissary accounts, a chance to play video games, and other rewards for remaining silent.
The plaintiffs were between 12 and 17 years old at the time they said they were abused, often while they were isolated in the bathroom, kitchen or in their cells. When detainees complained of abuse, the lawsuit says it was laughed off, with a lieutenant saying, “He’s just playing,” or a chaplain who told a 17-year-old boy that he allegedly had sex with him. Loved and was upset, “This is what goes on” in church.
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They are now adults, with the oldest in her 40s. Most are male, but one of the detention centers was co-educational. They are from small communities and big cities, mostly in Illinois. Many are from Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa and Texas.
“Children detained in juvenile detention centers are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. This is because the staff working in these juvenile detention centers have complete control over these children,” Block said. “These children have no way to escape the abuse.”
