Jeffery Christian, right, speaks at a news conference in Chicago on May 7. Christian and dozens of others say they were sexually abused as children while incarcerated in Illinois juvenile detention centers, in a lawsuit recounting decades of abuse allegations systemic of children. .
Teresa Crawford/AP
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Teresa Crawford/AP
Jeffery Christian, right, speaks at a news conference in Chicago on May 7. Christian and dozens of others say they were sexually abused as children while incarcerated in Illinois juvenile detention centers, in a lawsuit recounting decades of abuse allegations systemic of children. .
Teresa Crawford/AP
Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse allegations.
As a teenager nearly 20 years ago, Jeffery Christian was sent to a juvenile detention center in southern Illinois. He said he hoped to use his time there to grow and change, with the support of the staff around him.
“Instead, I was sexually abused and neglected,” Christian said at a recent press conference. “I learned too young that the system was not going to make me a better man, it was only going to hurt me.”
Christian claims to have been mistreated by several staff members for several years, just days after his detention began. According to a complaint filed last week in the Illinois Court of Claims, his mother reported at least some of the alleged abuse to executives, but no one followed up.
He is among more than 90 people who sued the state last week, claiming they were abused by employees while in juvenile detention, some as young as 12 years old.
It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits across the country alleging similar sexual misconduct by employees at facilities housing children accused of a crime. The U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into Kentucky’s youth detention centers on Wednesday.
Since the start of the year, lawsuits have been filed in at least four states, including Illinois. In April, more than 150 people sued New York City. In February, 63 people sued Maryland, bringing the total to at least 200 people who have filed lawsuits since last fall. In January, 50 people sued New Jersey.
The men and women involved in the lawsuits allege very similar abuses over several decades. Some say they were raped. Others say they were forced to have oral sex or touched inappropriately by employees. Some say they received rewards, such as special snacks or extra leisure time, if they complied; others say they were punished for refusing, including being sent to solitary confinement, a form of solitary confinement.
They say their attackers were those who were supposed to be there to protect and rehabilitate them: correctional officers, counselors, teachers and medical staff, among others.
When reached for comment, representatives from Illinois, New York City and Maryland all responded similarly, emphasizing that the abuse allegations predated their administration, but that they took the safety of the young people in their care seriously. A New Jersey spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice told NPR that it “takes the safety of young people” in its care seriously and that “all allegations of staff misconduct are immediately addressed.” a thorough investigation.
Changes in state laws have opened the way for many new lawsuits.
Last year, for example, Maryland completely removed the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases.
In New York, a 2022 amendment to a law protecting against gender-based violence provided for what is known as a “look-back period,” which provides a period of time during which victims can file suit in justice, even though many years have passed since the alleged abuse ended. place. This window closes in March 2025.
New Jersey changed its child victims law in 2019. Previously, lawsuits had to be filed before the victim reached age 20 or two years after first realizing they had suffered a damage, whichever is later. Now, people can file a lawsuit up to the age of 55, or within seven years of the injury being discovered.
“What these laws recognize is that it often takes years, even decades, for someone to be ready to come forward,” says Jerome Block, an attorney representing plaintiffs in several lawsuits. “These new laws really give them a chance to move forward and seek justice and demand accountability.”
Block said he expects more lawsuits in other states making similar allegations. The nonprofit Child USA tracks child victim laws across the country, and according to their research, more than a dozen states have changed their laws in recent years to give survivors more time to sue. .
Experts say juvenile facilities are inherently dangerous places for children. According to the Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy group, recurring abuses have been documented in state-funded juvenile detention centers in 29 states and the District of Columbia over the past several decades.
“You take vulnerable children and put them in the care of very powerful staff who have the ability to not only make their daily lives miserable or more comfortable, but who can also affect their ability to leave institutions,” says Michele Deitch, director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. “You have to start by recognizing that there are so many children who should never be in these settings.”
She says ensuring facilities have high-quality leadership and staff, as well as independent oversight, is an important way to combat this type of abuse. Several states, including Illinois, have already established ombudsmen who monitor conditions at these facilities.
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