CHICAGO (AP) — Child sexual abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers was pervasive and systemic for decades, according to disturbing accounts in a lawsuit filed Monday by 95 men and women housed at the youth centers as children. The lawsuit details alleged incidents of abuse from 1996 to 2017, including gang rape, forced oral sex, beatings and groping of children by corrections officers, sergeants, nurses, therapists, a chaplain and others at nine youth centers. Many plaintiffs said they were threatened or rewarded to keep quiet. “The State of Illinois has allowed a culture of abuse at Illinois Youth Centers to flourish unabated,” the 186-page complaint said. The lawsuit, filed in the Illinois Court of Claims, follows similar harrowing allegations of child sex abuse at juvenile detention centers in Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire, California and New York City. Some cases have gone to trial or resulted in settlements; arrests have been infrequent. |
What is Havana syndrome? Symptoms explained after bombshell 60 Minutes episodeFin Affleck's close friendship with JLo's child Emme Maribel Munniz, 16How to see a onceLove Island's Amy Hart reveals cruel trolls target her and oneThe View host Sara Haines REFUSES to say OJ Simpson's name in the wake of his deathOutrage as Tesla starts shipping $3,000 Cybertruck tent that looks nothing like as advertisedHow to tell if you have the sleep disorder that even doctors don't know aboutWhy cat urine smells so bad: Scientists reveal what causes the unique stenchUFO spotted shooting through clouds over Texas during the solar eclipse... do YOU know what it is?UFO spotted shooting through clouds over Texas during the solar eclipse... do YOU know what it is?