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Illinois Institutionalized Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Could Be Tip of the Iceberg for Juvenile Detention Abuse

A lawsuit filed on Monday, May 6, 2024, in the Illinois Court of Claims alleging sexual abuse by employees upon juvenile detainees at juvenile detention centers seeks to further unveil the institutionalized sexual abuse issue that has plagued the entire country for decades. Over 95 individuals filed suit alleging that they were sexually assaulted and abused by guards and other employees at juvenile detention centers across the State of Illinois while wards in the juvenile detention centers. The alleged incidents occurred from the 1990s to about 2017 and involve allegations about employees of the state at numerous levels from the guards to the cooks. Victims of the abuse include both men and women from various juvenile detention centers.

Illinois Sexual Assault Statute of Limitations

sexual molestationUnder Illinois law, the statute of limitations for adults and minors is drastically different. Adults who are assaulted may be limited to as little as two years to bring their claim. Minors, on the other hand, have an extended statute of limitations. For minors who were assaulted prior to January 1, 2014, they have a 20-year statute of limitations to bring their lawsuit and the 20-year period does not even start to run until their 18th birthday, Thus, they can bring a claim up until they turn 38. For minors who were assaulted after January 1, 2014, there is no statute of limitations to bring a civil lawsuit against their assailant. Thus the door has been opened for victims and survivors to come forward and seek justice from their abuses in a court of law.

The Illinois Institutionalized Sexual Abuse Lawsuits are Not the First

Unfortunately, the allegations of sexual abuse of minors in institutions and juvenile detention centers do not stop at the Illinois border. Similar lawsuits have been filed in California, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. Numerous other states have lifted or altered their statutes of limitation pertaining to the sexual assault of minors largely in response to the recognition of the institutionalized sexual assault problem that spans not just state facilities, but private organizations including the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America. Additionally, a number of states like Illinois, Louisiana, New York, and California have created look-back statutes that essentially reopen past cases that have already been extinguished by the relevant state statute of limitations.

Learn Your Rights

If you were a victim of institutionalized sexual abuse as a minor in a detention facility, at a church or other organization, or in any other situation where your abuser used his position to abuse you through threat, coercion, or force, talk to a sexual assault lawyer today to determine your rights. Regardless of what state your abuse took place in, call Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., Injury and Accident Lawyers at 800-298-0111 to be connected with a legal team who can discuss your legal options. Not all states have lifted the statute of limitations for persons committing sexual assault against minors. But with the meeting of each state legislature, there is home that more and more states will awaken to the fact that this type of abuse simply cannot be tolerated any longer.

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