NATIONAL NEWS

Survivors sue Illinois over decades of sexual abuse at Chicago youth detention center

Jul 23, 2024, 12:52 PM

Temarkus Washington, who says the sexual abuse he experienced as a teenager at a troubled Chicago j...

Temarkus Washington, who says the sexual abuse he experienced as a teenager at a troubled Chicago juvenile detention center still gives him nightmares, listens as an attorney speaks to reporters in Chicago on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Lawsuits filed Monday on behalf of 193 men and women, detail instances of rape, unlawful strip searches and other abuse by adult employees of the detention center from 1995 to 2022. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

CHICAGO (AP) — Temarkus Washington says the sexual abuse he experienced as a teenager at a troubled Chicago youth detention center still gives him nightmares.

The 35-year-old spoke publicly about his experiences Tuesday, a day after joining two lawsuits collecting dozens of abuse allegations at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, one of the largest centers of its kind nationwide. The lawsuits, filed Monday on behalf of 193 men and women, detail unsettling accusations of rape, unlawful strip searches and other sexual abuse by adult employees of the detention center from 1995 until 2022.

“It’s actually not something that I like to talk about or even think about. I did what I had to do to survive in there,” said Washington, speaking at a Chicago news conference with other survivors. “I am here because I want to feel confident in myself again. For so long I doubted myself and felt so scared.”

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified or decide to tell their stories publicly as Washington and others did Wednesday.

The allegations are the latest in Illinois, where two similar lawsuits were filed recently in the Illinois Court of Claims. In total, the accounts of nearly 400 survivors have been documented in court. Attorneys say they expect to file more lawsuits in the coming months.

“This has happened over and over again,” said attorney Todd Mathews, who has helped bring the Illinois cases. “This is still going on. It has to stop and this is the way it is going to stop.”

Nationally, there’s been a movement to draw attention to the conditions and treatment at youth detention centers. Attorney Jerome Block says sexual abuse at youth centers has been systemic. His New York-based firm has helped bring the Illinois lawsuits and others against juvenile detention centers in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some cases have gone to trial or resulted in settlements; arrests have been infrequent.

The latest Illinois lawsuits allege that sexual abuse at a Chicago juvenile detention center, formerly known as the Arthur J. Audy Home, was pervasive. The victims ranged in age between 9 and 17 years old.

The Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, where children are held before their cases are adjudicated, has faced issues for years and calls for closure. A class-action lawsuit in 1999 alleged a lack of medical care, dirty conditions, overcrowding, understaffing and excessive use of room confinement. In 2007, state law stripped the county of its authority to run the center and gave it to the Office of the Chief Judge.

“As a result of chronic mismanagement, patronage, overcrowding, and inadequate supervision, JTDC has been an environment of violence, fear, and sexual abuse for decades,” one of the lawsuits stated.

The allegations — spanning more than 500 pages between the two lawsuits — are hauntingly similar.

The children were often isolated in their rooms or bathrooms when the abuse took place, according to the lawsuits. Many plaintiffs said their abusers threatened them with violence or additional time at the facility if they reported the abuse. Others were given extra food and other rewards if they kept silent.

“The State of Illinois has caused and permitted a culture of sexual abuse to flourish unabated at JTDC,” one of the lawsuits said.

According to the lawsuit, one 16-year-old was raped by several adults employed as youth development specialists. Another teen said two employees would use strip searches to fondle him for sexual gratification. One 14-year-old said a nurse sexually abused him, including touching his genitals, in the medical unit while he was treated for pinkeye.

Some alleged offenders are named in the lawsuit, while others are identified only as the plaintiffs remembered them by physical attributes, initials or nicknames. The plaintiffs are only identified by initials in the lawsuit. Most are from Illinois with a few from other states including Ohio, Florida, Indiana and Wisconsin.

The lawsuits name the state of Illinois and Cook County and seek damages of roughly $2 million per plaintiff, the most allowed under law.

Messages left for Cook County and state of Illinois representatives were not immediately returned on Wednesday. State officials have previously said that allegations of abuse and staff misconduct are taken seriously and “thoroughly investigated.” A spokeswoman for Chief Judge Tim Evans’ office did not immediately have comment.

Phillip Goodwin, 24, also spoke out Tuesday, saying he hopes that coming forward about the abuse he experienced will help others. The Chicago man said the abuse happened about 10 years ago and that until recently he had been embarrassed by it.

“Talking about my abuse feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” he said. “I could finally get that anger that I carried.”

National News

Associated Press

Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of police and dismissed a lawsuit alleging negligence in the 2020 death of a woman who was in custody in suburban Detroit. There wasn’t enough evidence to let a jury decide whether Harper Woods officers and nd civilian aides were “grossly negligent” for […]

3 minutes ago

Associated Press

California researchers discover mysterious, gelatinous new sea slug

MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) — More than two decades after spotting a mysterious, gelatinous, bioluminescent creature swimming in the deep sea, California researchers this week announced that it is a new species of sea slug. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute posted video online of the new sea slug floating gently in the depths. Using a […]

5 minutes ago

FILE - The U.S. Courthouse is seen in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File...

Associated Press

Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Marine Corps veteran who pleaded guilty to making ricin after his contacts with a Virginia militia prompted a federal investigation was sentenced Wednesday to time served after the probe concluded he had no intent to harm others. When the FBI arrested Russell Vane, 42, of Vienna, Virginia in April, authorities […]

10 minutes ago

FILE - In this April 17, 2019, photo, reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower is see...

Associated Press

Judge sets date for 9/11 defendants to enter pleas, deepening battle over court’s independence

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military judge at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has scheduled hearings in early January for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants to enter guilty pleas in exchange for life sentences despite Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s effort to scuttle the plea agreements. The move Wednesday by Judge Matthew McCall, an […]

14 minutes ago

FILE - A sign in the lobby of Amazon offices is shown on Feb. 14, 2019 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark ...

Associated Press

Amazon launches an online discount storefront to better compete with Shein and Temu

Amazon has launched a low-cost online storefront featuring electronics, apparel and other products priced at under $20, an effort to compete with discount retailers that have increasingly encroached on the e-commerce giant’s turf. In a blog post on Wednesday, the company said the new Amazon Haul storefront will mostly feature products that cost less than […]

37 minutes ago

Associated Press

Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Black and Latino families who were pushed out of a Palm Springs neighborhood in the 1960s reached a $27 million tentative settlement agreement with the city that will largely go toward increasing housing access. The deal was announced Wednesday, and the city council will vote on it Thursday. The history of […]

37 minutes ago

Survivors sue Illinois over decades of sexual abuse at Chicago youth detention center