Wed Sep 25 04:52:17 UTC 2024: ## Hundreds Sue Illinois Over Child Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention Centers
CHICAGO – Over 200 individuals have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse while in custody at juvenile detention centers in Illinois, adding to a growing list of lawsuits detailing decades of systemic abuse within the state’s youth facilities. Three separate lawsuits filed Monday detail harrowing accounts of rape, forced oral sex, and beatings by corrections officers, nurses, kitchen staff, chaplains, and other personnel, spanning from 1996 to 2021.
These lawsuits are part of a larger wave of complaints across the country, highlighting a disturbing trend of child sex abuse in juvenile detention centers. While few cases have resulted in trials or settlements, Illinois stands out for the sheer number of allegations.
“Of all the states in which we’ve been litigating, we are seeing some of the worst and highest numbers of cases of staff perpetrating sexual abuse compared to anywhere in the country,” said Jerome Block, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.
The lawsuits name several repeat offenders, some of whom have been convicted of sex crimes but not related to the accusations within the lawsuits. At least one accused employee still works for the state, according to state records.
The largest of the lawsuits, covering 222 individuals, details abuse at nine state-run youth detention centers, five of which have since closed. Many survivors report being threatened with beatings, solitary confinement, transfers to harsher facilities, and longer sentences if they reported the abuse. Others were given rewards for silence, including extra food, cigarettes, and privileges like access to video games.
The majority of the alleged abusers are identified only by descriptions, first names, or nicknames. However, several plaintiffs independently described abuse at the hands of a chaplain at a state facility in St. Charles, Illinois.
The chaplain would isolate children in various locations before forcing oral sex and other abuse, according to the lawsuit. In one instance, he told a teenager that “his friends ‘wouldn’t look at him the same’ if they knew.”
The lawsuits are seeking damages of approximately $2 million per plaintiff in state-run facilities and over $100,000 per plaintiff at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago. The lawsuit involving the Chicago center alleges that abuse frequently occurred during unlawful strip searches.
The Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, where children are held before their cases are adjudicated, has been the subject of controversy for years, with calls for its closure. A 1999 class-action lawsuit alleged inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, understaffing, and excessive use of solitary confinement.
The lawsuits come as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of children in state custody and the critical need for systemic change to protect them from abuse.
First Piper 