OAN’s Taylor Tinsley
2:46 PM PT – Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Dozens of former inmates at youth detention centers across Illinois have come forward, saying they were abused by correctional workers.
95 former juvenile inmates brought the complaint forward in a lawsuit filed in the State Court of Claims on Monday.
The suit alleges that Illinois allowed state workers to abuse inmates across nine youth detention facilities, from 1996 to 2017.
“These acts of abuse were carried out by guards, administrators, staff and other employees of the State of Illinois,” said Todd Matthews, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “The incidents involve all types of horrific sexual abuse.”
10 of the 95 plaintiffs came forward to tell their stories during a press conference on Tuesday.
“I wish I could have used my time in a system to grow and change and become a better man through the discipline and support of the staff around me,” said one of the plaintiffs, Jeffery Christian. “Instead, I was sexually abused and neglected. I learned at a too young of age that the system wasn’t going to make me a better man. It just hurt me.”
Many of the survivors said they were threatened to keep quiet, sometimes even rewarded for it.
“This sex abuse happened under the threat of physical beatings,” the filing stated.
The lawsuit seeks damages of roughly $2 million per plaintiff.
In a statement over the legal action, The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice said it cannot comment on active litigation but “takes seriously the safety of youth in the care of the department.”
Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) echoed that he isn’t able to comment on ongoing litigation, but noted that the allegations occurred before he took office in 2019.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs, however, say more may come forward.
“We don’t have any reason to believe that the negligence and the problems that led to our clients being sexually abused have been fixed,” said attorney Jerome Block.
The lawsuit comes after 150 people filed complaints over abuse at youth detention centers in New York City. Others have also been filed in New Jersey, Maryland and California.
The men who spoke at the press conference on Tuesday hope that their stories inspire others to come forward.
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