Recently, a wave of lawsuits has shed light on disturbing allegations of systemic sex abuse in youth detention facilities in Illinois. One survivor, Michael Moss, bravely shared his traumatic experiences of being sexually abused as a teenager at a troubled Chicago juvenile detention center. Moss, now 30, expressed feelings of shame and guilt that haunted him for years.
According to Moss and hundreds of other survivors who have filed lawsuits, the abuse in Illinois youth facilities was widespread and horrifying. The lawsuits, totaling 667 complaints since May, detail accounts of rape, forced oral sex, beatings, and other forms of abuse dating back to 1996. The accused perpetrators include corrections officers, nurses, kitchen staff, chaplains, and others.
