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. |
New Jersey is motivating telecommuters to appeal their New York tax billsComedian Elayne Boosler says she was arrested at a Los Angeles Dodgers game because of a 'powerTikTok may be banned in the US. Here's what happened when India did itBeauty experts reveal the common gel manicure mistakes that are RUINING your nailsFamke Janssen, 59, shows off her ageYoung Laotians held at Myanmar casino fearful of fighting nearby — Radio Free AsiaSaudi Arabia's King Salman enters hospital for routine examinations, state media sayPaddy McGuinness insists he'll support exMoment outNepal's president asks visiting Qatari emir to help free student held hostage by Hamas