“The State of Illinois has had notice of such abuse for decades and nonetheless neglected to protect its confined youth from sexual abuse and failed to implement policies necessary to ensure such protection,” said one lawsuit filed Monday that characterizes the abuse as “systemic.”.
“How many more men and women who were sexually abused as children need to come forward in these cases before you take these cases seriously and do something?” said New York-based attorney Jerome Block, whose firm has filed complaints in Illinois and other states.
One complaint, representing 89 people, names the state of Illinois and two state agencies, while 44 other individual complaints name Cook County, which ran a Chicago juvenile detention center.
Attorneys said Tuesday that local prosecutors have enough details to start building criminal cases and blasted state leaders in Illinois, which has stood out nationally for the volume of cases.
He's among 800 people who have filed complaints since May against juvenile detention centers in Illinois alleging they were sexually abused by employees.
