NEW YORK, May 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Levy Konigsberg and co-counsel have filed lawsuits on behalf of 95 survivors of sexual abuse against the State of Illinois, alleging that the Illinois Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice failed to protect children from rampant sexual abuse perpetrated by adult employees at Illinois Youth Centers in Chicago, Murphysboro, Valley View, Joliet, Kewanee, Warrenville, St. Charles, Pere Marquette, and Harrisburg. The lawsuits, brought on behalf of 95 men and women who were abused as children at these detention facilities is the latest in a string of juvenile detention abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg along with its co-counsel.

Juvenile detention centers across Illinois have faced years of scrutiny over failures to protect youth inmates from violence and sexual abuse perpetrated by staff, and several have been identified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as having the highest rates of sexual victimization in the nation. From civil lawsuits and criminal cases involving abusive guards to alarming investigative findings, the record shows that the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) and other entities that operate jails or facilities that house youth inmates failed to reign in a culture of secrecy and cover-ups that allowed staff-on-inmate abuse to persist for decades.

The suits filed by Levy Konigsberg were brought under the recently amended Childhood Sexual Abuse Act as codified at 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2. The Childhood Sexual Abuse Act provides legal pathways for victims of this type of sexual abuse to pursue damages from their abusers and from the institutions that enabled the abuse by increasing the time in which survivors of sexual abuse are permitted to come forward and file civil lawsuits.

The 95 Survivors who have filed claims so far include those who suffered sexual abuse as far back as the 1990s and up through recent years. The plaintiffs, who are now adults, were sexually abused as children ranging from age 12 to 17. The perpetrators of the sexual abuse were correctional officers, counselors, supervisors and other Illinois Youth Center staff.

In announcing today’s lawsuits filed on behalf of 95 men and women, Levy Konigsberg Partner Jerome Block stated:

“The State of Illinois and its agencies have enabled rampant, systematic sexual abuse in its youth centers for decades. These cases are exposing the truth of a broken Illinois juvenile system that has failed to keep children safe. Childhood sexual abuse is one of the worse traumas a person can experience and causes a lifetime of damage. The courageous survivors filing these cases want justice, accountability and for sexual abuse in Illinois Youth Centers to end.”

Levy Konigsberg has filed hundreds of lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse nationwide and is at the forefront of litigation in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, and other states.

Levy Konigsberg represents hundreds of survivors of child sexual abuse at Illinois juvenile detention facilities and plans to continue fighting tirelessly on their behalf.

For additional information about Illinois juvenile detention center sex abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg, and its co-counsel, media members and journalists are encouraged to reach out to Attorney Jerome Block by using the law firm’s contact form: https://www.levylaw.com/contact-us/

Media Contact: Attorney Jerome Block, [email protected] 

SOURCE Levy Konigsberg