Children Sexually Abused at Illinois Psychiatric Hospitals
A new series of Chicago Tribune reports show children face a serious risk of sexual assault at some of Chicago’s most prominent psychiatric hospitals.
The Tribune identified at least 18 cases of rape or sexual abuse committed against child patients in the last two years. Almost all of the alleged victims- some as young as 7 years old- were wards of the state with traumatic histories of abuse and neglect.
The reports cite government records that show a half-dozen area hospitals failed to notify police of the attacks, and no arrests were made. In one example, at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital on the North Side, three male patients are accused of sneaking into a 15-year-old girl’s room at night and raping her. When hospital staff finally entered the room, the boys refused to leave and kicked a 60-year-old nurse.