Survivors' lawyers say Illinois has one of nation's worst records on sex abuse in juvenile detention

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois has one of the nation’s worst problems with child sex abuse at juvenile detention centers, attorneys representing more than 900 survivors who have filed lawsuits said Wednesday.

Dozens of complaints, including several filed this week in Chicago, allege decades of systemic abuse of children by the employees of detention facilities. Similar lawsuits have popped up in states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, but Illinois stands out for the volume of cases that began piling up last year and the lackluster response from state leaders, according to attorneys.

“The scale and the magnitude and the severity of these cases are some of the worst we’ve seen all over the United States,” Jerome Block, an attorney who has filed lawsuits nationwide, said at a news conference.

The latest Illinois complaints, filed Tuesday, represent 107 people who experienced abuse as children at 10 centers statewide. Some have since closed. The lawsuits allege abuse from the mid-1990s to 2018, including rape, forced masturbation and beatings by chaplains, counselors, officers and kitchen supervisors.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified or decide to tell their stories publicly, as some who have filed lawsuits have done. Most plaintiffs are identified by initials in the lawsuits.

Survivor Kate-Lynn, who appeared at a Chicago news conference, said she only felt comfortable speaking publicly using her first name. The Illinois woman, now 26, said she was held in solitary confinement at a suburban Chicago facility for a year when she was 14. She said she was sexually and physically abused by at least five staff members who came into her cell and stripped her naked.

As she spoke, a fellow survivor who also planned to speak became overcome with emotion and left the room. He didn't return.

Kate-Lynn said she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

“Going to public places is very hard for me,” she said, wiping tears at times. “I feel like I 'm going to be attacked when dealing with authority figures."

The lawsuits, first filed in May 2024, and they are slowly making their way through the courts.

Two lawsuits against the state — representing 83 people — were filed in the Illinois Court of Claims and seek damages of roughly $2 million per plaintiff, the most allowed under law. Separate lawsuits representing 24 people held as children at a Chicago center, were filed in Cook County and seek more than $100,000 per plaintiff.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who represents the state, has tried to dismiss the cases in court.

Raoul, whose office has investigated church sex abuse cases, declined to comment Wednesday as did officials with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Cook County. The lawsuits also name the state of Illinois and the Department of Corrections. Officials for the governor's office and Corrections did not return messages Wednesday.

While the number of lawsuits grows, few cases have gone to trial or resulted in settlements. Arrests are infrequent.

Many alleged offenders are not named in the lawsuits, represented by initials or physical descriptions as the plaintiffs remembered them. There are several alleged repeat offenders, including a corrections officer who currently serves as a small-town Illinois mayor and was accused separately by 15 people. He has denied the allegations.

Attorneys have called for legislative hearings, outside monitors, victim input and criminal charges by local authorities. Block has also harshly criticized Illinois leaders, including Raoul, saying there is a double standard for the abuse victims juvenile detention centers versus church abuse victims.

“When it's the state who perpetrated the abuse, when it's state employees who perpetrated the abuse rather than Catholic priests, the attorney general doesn't want to support the survivors,” he said.

Horrific accounts are detailed in the hundreds of pages of complaints. Many plaintiffs said their abusers threatened them with violence, solitary confinement and longer sentences if they reported the abuse. Others were given fast food, candy, cigarettes or the chance to play videos games if they kept quiet.

Another survivor, a 40-year-old Texas man identified in the lawsuit by the initials J.B. 2, said he was abused when he was 14 years old and staying a facility in St. Charles, which is outside Chicago. He issued a statement through attorneys.

“I want to let my fellow survivors know that we are not alone in this,” he wrote. “Speaking your truth, no matter how gruesome it is, it can help to set you free from yourself and all the hurt that's been bottled up.”

One of sexual assault survivor Michael Moss wipes his eyes as he listens to Jerome Block, partner, Levy & Konigsberg LLP, during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Jerome Block, partner, Levy & Konigsberg LLP, right, talks to media as attorney Kristen Feden, 1st left, listens to him during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

One sexual assault survivor Michael Moss, center, talks to media as Jerome Block, partner, Levy & Konigsberg LLP, left, and attorney Kristen Feden listen to him during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

One of sexual assault survivor Kate-Lynn (first name only), cries as she talks to media during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

One of sexual assault survivor Kate-Lynn (first name only), wipes his face after talking to media during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Alexandre Texier broke a tie 1:06 into the third period and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

Rookie Jakub Dobes stopped 38 shots to help Montreal move within a victory of advancing for the first time since losing to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021.

Brendan Gallagher got his first goal in his first game this series and Kirby Dach also scored for the Canadiens.

“It's obviously exciting,” said Gallagher, who was a healthy scratch the first four games. “It's been a fun series to watch. I tried to follow their lead and find a way to contribute and I did that.”

Game 6 is Friday night in Montreal, where the teams split Games 3 and 4. All five games have been decided by one goal, including overtime in the first three.

Dominic James scored his first career playoff goal and Jake Guentzel also connected for the Lightning. They are one loss from being eliminated in the first round for the fourth straight season.

Tampa Bay has lost 10 of its last 12 home games in the postseason despite 460 consecutive sellouts.

“We got no choice now. We got to show up or we're out,” Lightning forward Brayden Point said.

Texier took a long pass from Lane Hutson, skated into the left circle and ripped a shot that bounced off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove and into the net for a 3-2 lead early in the third.

“I'm not a 50-goal scorer,” Texier said. “When I have a chance, I just try to put it on net and sometimes you're lucky it's in and sometimes not.”

The Canadiens jumped ahead three minutes into the game when Gallagher wristed in a rebound after Vasilevskiy kicked away Alex Newhook’s backhander. Gallagher, the 14-year veteran, spent time the first four games giving the young players advice.

“I was happy for him and happy for us,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said about Gallagher. “Really happy the way he's handled everything and not surprised the way he played.”

Seconds after James blasted a slap shot past Dobes on a 2-on-1 breakaway, the Canadiens regained the lead. Dach skated down the left side, went around a defender, lost the puck, kicked it from his skate to his stick in front of the net and put it in.

Dach deactivated his Instagram account after receiving online criticism because his defensive lapse led to the winning goal in overtime in Game 2. He had a goal and an assist in Montreal’s 3-2 overtime win the next game.

Guentzel fired a slap shot between Dobes’ legs on another 2-on-1 breakaway to tie it at 2 late in the second. Guentzel has the best playoff goal-scoring ratio among American-born players in NHL history with 43 goals in 79 games.

The Lightning killed off a four-minute disadvantage after Ryan McDonagh’s double minor for high-sticking in the first period. The Canadiens managed just one shot on net during the power play.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tampa Bay Lightning center Dominic James (17) watches his shot get past Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) for a goal during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Montréal Canadiens center Kirby Dach (77) plays a loose puck in front of Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) beats Montréal Canadiens center Phillip Danault (24) to a loose puck during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Montréal Canadiens center Kirby Dach (77) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Montréal Canadiens players celebrate their win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)