Lawsuits allege rampant sexual abuse at Cook County juvenile detention center – NBC Chicago

On Monday, attorneys filed two lawsuits against Cook County and the state of Illinois alleging decades of abuse at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC), formerly known as Audy Home.

In the more than 400-page complaint, the detention center staff are accused of “sexually abusing” inmates.

The reasons given are “chronic mismanagement, paternalism, overcrowding and inadequate supervision” which are responsible for creating an “environment of violence, fear and sexual abuse for decades”.

The lawsuit continues: “Cook County has been aware of such abuse for decades, yet has failed to protect the juveniles incarcerated there from sexual abuse and has failed to take the necessary steps to ensure such protection.”

A spokesperson for the state and county told NBC Chicago that they do not comment on pending litigation.

“Instead of getting help, I was abused and mistreated by detention center staff,” said Shamika, one of the plaintiffs who told their stories during a press conference.

“I was abused almost two decades ago, but it still affects me today.”

Shamika, now 33, said she was 14 at the time of the alleged abuse in 2005.

Temarkus Washington, now 35, paints a similarly bleak picture.

“The act that these staff forced me to do still gives me nightmares,” said Washington, who was 16 at the time of the alleged abuse.

“I grew up with four siblings and a single mother in a neighborhood with a lot of gangs and fights. As a child, I looked up to the wrong people,” he said about his experiences at the JTDC.

“Three employees took advantage of my fear and confusion and sexually assaulted me.”

The plaintiffs said they hope their story will inspire others to come forward and initiate change at the facility.

“Speaking out about my abuse feels like a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” said Phillip Goodwin, another plaintiff.

“This is a facility that is supposed to provide for the safety and rehabilitation of children,” said attorney Jerome Block, a partner at Levy Konigsberg LLP. “The perpetrators in these cases are prison guards, counselors, medical staff, even supervisors. The very people entrusted with the safety of the children committed the sexual abuse.”

The lawsuits filed Monday include 193 plaintiffs, men and women.

“We currently have 395 cases on file in Illinois against Cook County and the State of Illinois,” said attorney Todd Mathews, a partner at Bailey & Glasser LLP.

Forty-seven percent of these cases are from Cook County. The remaining cases involve state-run youth centers in Illinois, according to Mathews and Block.

“We have people as young as nine who have been abused. This has been happening since 1995. And it’s still going on,” Mathews said.

The lawyers said their clients were between 9 and 17 years old at the time of the alleged abuse, which occurred between 1995 and 2022.