Nearly 1,000 lawsuits allege sexual abuse at Illinois, Cook County juvenile detention centers
Nearly 1,000 lawsuits allege sexual abuse at Illinois, Cook County juvenile detention centers
Nearly 1,000 lawsuits were filed alleging sexual abuse by staffers at Illinois and Cook County juvenile detention centers.
CHICAGO - Nearly 1,000 lawsuits have been filed alleging decades of sexual abuse by employees at Illinois and Cook County youth detention centers.
On Wednesday, some of the survivors joined their attorneys to announce the lawsuits and demand accountability.
What we know:
The alleged abuse is said to have occurred at Illinois Youth Centers (IYC) and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
Most of the victims were between the ages of 14 and 16 years old at the time, but some were as young as nine, according to the complaints.
"It's the exposé of a system, a state-run system, that protected predators at the expense of children," said Kristen Feden, shareholder, Anapol Weiss. "When the state allows dozens upon dozens of officials to perpetrate abuse across decades without consequence, that is a systemic failure."
Attorneys for the victims said hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over the last several months, but 107 new cases were filed in court on Tuesday.
In total, 907 cases have now been filed—covering incidents of alleged abuse from 1996 to 2023.
Nearly 70 percent of the abuse detailed in complaints unfolded at IYC facilities, including in Chicago, Harrisburg, St. Charles, and Warrenville.
Attorneys say 31.4 percent of the abuse reported by their clients took place at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, located in the 1100 block of S. Hamilton on the city's West Side. The facility, which was formerly known as the Arthur J. Audy Home, is the largest of its kind in the nation.
"We're here today because children were raped, they were assaulted, they were molested, they were threatened and they were abused, all while in the custody of the state," Feden said.
Attorneys said 86% of the victims were boys, and the majority of the alleged abuse took place in the early 2000s.
"The attorney general of this state has taken the position on June 9, 2025, that traumatized children should have come forward with their claims before turning age 19," said Jerome Block, partner, Levy & Konigsberg LLP.
Attorneys for the victims went on to say: "The state’s outrageous and callous legal position ignores the deep trauma of childhood sexual abuse and the rights granted by the Illinois Childhood Sexual Abuse Act."
What they're saying:
The lawsuits allege that the victims were stripped, raped, and forced to perform sexual acts by their abusers, who were allegedly juvenile correctional officers and other staffers. The complaints claim that some of the abuse occurred in the middle of the night, and that strip searches were often used as a pretext for the assaults.
"I was left bruised, naked, handcuffed, shackled, and unable to move," Caitlin, a survivor, shared. "My life has been severely impacted by the trauma I experience at the hands of these state employees at IYC — Warrenville."
The plaintiffs also alleged that boys and girls endured years of psychological abuse while in the facilities. Survivors, on Wednesday, shared that they are still struggling to cope years later.
"I thought that the officers in the facility were there to keep me safe and protect us, but they were only there for their own game, the game of taking our innocence and manipulating our minds," added Charles Graves, another survivor.
Now, the survivors are reclaiming their stories in hopes to prevent the same thing from happening to others.
"The trauma that we had to endure does not just disappear from our memories as a result of being sexually abused as a child in the juvenile justice system," said Michael Moss, one of the survivors filing a lawsuit. "I struggle trusting others and tend to shut down [with] those around me. It's also difficult for me to express my feelings and let people in. Daily, I suffer from PTSD and anxiety as well. I'm often fearful that others may judge me for what I've been through, but today I stand before you hoping to lead by example and eliminate those feelings of shame."
What's next:
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office shares that they are reviewing the complaints and do not have further comment at this time.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Judge, which runs the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, said they cannot comment on pending litigation.