Attorneys for a woman who says she was sexually assaulted as a teenager at a now-shuttered, state-monitored residential facility on Chicago’s South Side have filed a new complaint in the Illinois Court of Claims, broadening a lawsuit first brought three weeks ago.
The new filing is aimed at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which cannot be sued in Cook County court. The complaint seeks to hold the agency responsible for placing minors at the facility, where several assaults were reported between 2023 and 2024.
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At the center of the case is Yadira Escamilla, who appeared with Gov. JB Pritzker on Jan. 23, 2024, at the opening of a transitional living facility where she had just been placed. “I have been able to relax in my own bed and know I am safe,” Escamilla said that day.
Escamilla was 17 at the time. But according to the complaint, she was soon sent back to Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center in Bronzeville. Within days of returning, she was allegedly sexually assaulted by an overnight manager at the facility.
“The State of Illinois was supposed to make sure that she was secure in the facility that they put her in,” attorney Ben Crump said.
The complaint also points to the background of the employee accused in the assault, Trulon Henry. According to the filing, Henry had previously been convicted of armed robbery and served five years in prison before later being hired by the center, which housed vulnerable youth.
Attorneys said Escamilla had been classified as a high-needs resident, requiring constant supervision. Instead, they said she was placed in a basement room without cameras.
The abuse continued for months. Escamilla reported it after realizing she was not the only victim.
“Background checks are so easy to do now but they hired a convicted felon and looked the other way,” Crump said.
Henry was convicted in March of sexually assaulting Escamilla and four other children between the ages of 12 and 17.
Gov. Pritzker ordered the facility closed after Henry was charged. Attorneys are now pursuing claims against the nonprofit that operated the site, which continues to provide services for DCFS, as well as the agency itself, alleging failures in oversight.
“From 2018 until Aunt Martha’s was shut down there were over 3,000 unusual incident reports to DCFS,” said Margaret Battersby Black, managing partner at Levin & Perconti. “Why didn’t they heed those warnings? Why didn’t they react? Why didn’t they investigate?”
Representatives for Aunt Martha’s and DCFS did not offer up a response, saying they do not comment on ongoing litigation.
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