Illinois Juvenile Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Continue To Mount, Highlighting Systemic Pattern of Misconduct at Detention Facilities

Survivors allege that the Illinois Attorney General is less focused on addressing child sex abuse problems at juvenile detention facilities, and more on getting lawsuits dismissed

Child sexual abuse lawsuits continue to mount over troubling allegations of problems at Illinois juvenile detention centers, with survivors indicating they faced systemic abuse as part of the state’s juvenile justice system, which has appeared unconcerned, and even dismissive, about their safety.

Last week, another 133 plaintiffs filed lawsuits against the Illinois juvenile detention system, joining hundreds of other survivors who have brought similar complaints over the last year, naming the state of Illinois, Cook County and other state agencies as defendants.

With the filing, it is now believed that more than 800 individuals are pursuing Illinois juvenile detention center abuse lawsuits, each raising similar allegations that they were abused and assaulted while detainees when they were children, highlighting a systemic pattern of misconduct that has gone unaddressed for years.

The lawsuits are possible due to a 2014 state law, which extended the statute of limitations for civil child sexual abuse lawsuits, allowing survivors to file complaints against abusers or entities responsible for enabling the conduct for up to 20 years after the incidents occurred.

According to plaintiffs, the incidents are part of a systemic problem in the state’s juvenile justice system. They have turned over lists of employees who they say had patterns of abusive behavior toward minors under the state’s care.

However, instead of addressing the problems, plaintiffs pointed out that Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has shown more interest in having the cases dismissed than addressing repeated, horrific, incidents of child sexual assault conducted by state employees.

At a press conference held last week announcing the lawsuits, plaintiffs said few of these former staff members have been convicted in recent years of child sex abuse crimes, and say the state has shown no interest in investigating any further.

Juvenile System Child Abuse Lawsuits

Illinois is one of several states facing child sexual abuse lawsuits alleging government organizations failed to protect children in juvenile detention centers, which they were supposed to be protecting.

After Illinois changed its laws in 2014, a number of other states also altered their statute of limitations laws to allow the filing of child sexual abuse lawsuits involving incidents that often occurred many decades earlier. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in the number of lawsuits filed against state juvenile justice systems nationwide, by former inmates who say they were put through horrific abuses in those facilities as children.

In some states, like Maryland, statute of limitations deadlines have been entirely removed. In others, states have created limited “windows” for older survivors to come forward and pursue civil claims against their abusers or entities that enabled the conduct.

In addition to claims against government entities, similar lawsuits have also been filed against large private institutions, like the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America. As a result of mounting liability for failing to prevent priests from abusing children, numerous Catholic Archdioceses have declared bankruptcy in recent years. The Boy Scouts also declared bankruptcy in 2020, and now plans to emerge from Chapter 11 protections after agreeing to a $2.4 billion child abuse settlement agreement last year.