Articles Posted in Childhood Sexual Abuse

Lake County, IL, prosecutors have confirmed that a senior deputy for the Lake County coroner’s office has been charged with offenses related to the sexual abuse of a teenage girl. The accused, 42 year old Robert Barrett of Lindenhurst, IL, has been accused of repeated molestation of a teenage girl according to a spokesperson for the Office of the Lake County State’s Attorney. That spokesperson also indicated that the childhood sexual abuse victim claimed that the inappropriate contact had occurred about two to three times a week over an unspecified time period. A witness reportedly saw the deputy in a compromising position with the alleged sexual abuse victim on Sunday. The sexual abuse victim has been taken to the Children’s Advocacy Center for interviewing.

Barrett was arrested on Sunday when he showed up for work at the Lake County Coroner’s Office according to Lake County Coroner Richard Keller. The accused was then taken to Vista Medical Center West in Waukegan for evaluation for fear that he might be suicidal. He has been placed on administrative leave pending a police investigation into the sexual abuse allegations. The State’s Attorneys office has indicated that additional charges may be forthcoming pending the outcome of that investigation. The Lake County Coroner did not comment on the matter citing the fact that it is an ongoing investigation.

If you have been the victim of sexual abuse in or around Chicago, you should speak with an attorney as soon as possible. If you would like to contact an Illinois sexual abuse attorney with more than twenty nine years of experience, please click here.

A Lake Zurich high school drama teacher was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse earlier this week following allegations that the teacher had an inappropriate relationship with a student. The teacher, Ronald D. Culver of Inverness, IL, resigned his position at Lake Zurich High School and turned himself into authorities on Monday night. He has reportedly been released on $10,000.00 bail. According to reports,

the sexual abuse allegations came to light last Thursday when a student reported an inappropriate relationship to a school administrator. The Lake Zurich Police were immediately contacted and performed an investigation determining that a relationship did in fact exist between Culver and a student.

Culver was first hired in 1994 as a speech and drama teacher at a middle school within the school district. He was subsequently hired to teach English at Lake Zurich High School. He had been a full time English and drama teacher at the high school since 2001. The charges against Culver carry a possible sentence of 3 to 7 years in jail. Local authorities are asking anyone with information that might be relevant to the charges against Culver to contact Lake Zurich Police Officer Denise Bradstreet at 847-719-1695.

A Rockford, IL, youth pastor was formally charged with more than twenty counts of sexual abuse earlier this week after two alleged victims came forward. The accused, 54 year old Terry Carlson of Rockford, IL, held a number of titles and responsibilities with Kishwaukee Baptist Chuch in Rockford, IL. He had spent time as a church bus driver, church trustee, and Sunday school instructor over the last several years. Investigators and the Winnebago County State’s Attorney are now urging anyone with information or similar allegations relative to Carlson to come forward.

Investigators have not revealed whether the alleged sexual abuse occurred on church grounds. Bond for the alleged childhood sexual abuse perpetrator has been set at half a million dollars. Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato is qouted, “If you have as a parent, any information that you feel like before, didn’t make sense to you, or that you didn’t report now would be the time to so.”

If you have been the victim of sexual abuse in Chicago or any of the surrounding suburbs, you should consider contacting an attorney to explore potential avenues of recovery and protect your rights. For more information on sexual abuse in Illinois, please click here.

A Chicago Tribune investigation has uncovered at least eighteen case of reported rape or childhood sexual abuse at Chicago area psychiatric hospitals and facilities since July of 2008. The study determined that the alarmingly high number of abuse cases was due in part to facility failure in properly supervising patients and also failing to report many abuse cases to the authorities. The Chicago area sexual abuse victims were youths with serious mental illnesses housed at state funded institutions. Some of the victims were as young as seven years old. Of the eighteen cases of abuse uncovered by the investigation, all but four of the children were wards of the state.

Many critics are pointing the finger at Illinois DCFS and the Illinois Department of Health, which is responsible for the licensing and inspection of medical facilities in the State of Illinois, for the staggering amount of abuse. These agencies have claimed that their ability to effectively protect youth patients is seriously hampered by weak laws and insufficient funding. There has been no state action taken against any of the half dozen psychiatric hospitals where the bulk of the abuse has reportedly occurred.

One of those institutions, Chicago Lake Shore Hospital, has had three reports of sexual assault and abuse. One of these incidents involved the rape of a 15 year old girl by three male patients while another saw the abuse of an 11 year old boy by two male patients in a bathroom that was supposed to have been locked and supervised by staff. The Tribune investigation was based upon police reports, public health records, DCFS documents and court files.

A suburban Chicago priest was sentenced to four years in prison by a Kane County judge last week for the sexual abuse of a minor boy. The Roman Catholic priest, Alejandro Flores, had previously attempted suicide as allegations that the priest had engaged in inappropriate sexual contact were heating up. Flores entered a guilty plea to the charges on September 8, 2010. The Chicago area priest, who is a native of Bolivia, will likely face deportation when his sentence ends.

According to reports, Flores had started abusing the boy over a five year period in 2005 after he had ingratiated himself to the family. The child and his family were parishioners at St. Mary Catholic Church in West Chicago, IL. The abuse continued for about five years. Reports indicate that Flores had also attempted to engage the child’s older brother in sexual acts but the boy refused. New reports also indicate that Diocesan officials had some misgivings about ordaining Flores as he had been reprimanded for spending time alone with a boy in a vehicle in 2005, had viewed male pornography on a church owned computer and had also admitted that he had been sexually abused as a boy to two church supervisors. Flores was ordained in 2009. Diocese officials were made aware of the relationship between Flores and the victim by the victim’s mother in late 2009.

If you have been the victim of sexual abuse, you should retain a lawyer experienced in handling these sensitive and difficult matters. For more information on obtaining an attorney, please click here.

A longtime Chicago Ridge village secretary and mother of three has been accused of using alcohol and marijuana to manipulate teenagers into engaging in sexual activity with her. The woman, Cathleen M. Miller, is accused of sexually molesting four of her daughter’s 14 and 15 year old male friends. According to reports, the alleged molestation took place in Miller’s home at 5813 W. 109th St. between February and June of this year. She now faces three counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse.

The alleged sexual abuse reportedly came to light when one of the boys posted an apology to Miller’s daughter on Facebook. The young teen’s parents reportedly saw the posting and went to the police. Miller has been barred from contact with her 14 year old daughter because the girl allegedly witnessed some of the alleged acts of sexual abuse. Miller’s bail has been set at $900,000.00 by the Circuit Court of Cook County’s 5th District in Bridgeview, IL. Miller had reportedly recently separated from her husband claiming she suffered a long history of physical and emotional abuse. Miller’s sister has taken custody of her children as the Illinois DCFS investigates the sexual abuse allegations.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse you should contact an experienced trial lawyer to protect your rights. The Klest Law Firm offers free consultations to victims of sexual abuse. Attorney Joseph G. Klest helped draft the current statute of limitations contained in the Childhood Sexual Abuse Act (CSAA). To speak with attorney Klest, please click here.

The Chicago high school band teacher is currently serving 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of sexual abuse in 2006. The teacher, Robert Sperlik, taught in the Berwyn school district for nearly twenty years. The instances of sexual abuse reportedly occurred between 1998 and 2003 and included 20 separate victims. The underlying instances of sexual abuse include allegations that Sperlik had used duct tape to bind one victim in a chair while he molested her. Another victim was reportedly gagged with a rag in the band classroom. A recent civil lawsuit alleged that the principal knew of allegations against Sperlik but continued to expose him to children. The principal had previously been acquitted of misdemeanor charges for failing to report the abuse.

The circumstances surrounding Sperlik’s conviction should serve as a warning to Chicago area institutions to take reports of abuse very seriously. If you or a loved one have been the victim of sexual abuse, you should contact an attorney to investigate your case and protect your rights. The Klest Law Firm has over twenty eight years of experience handling sexual abuse claims in Illinois. To speak with an experienced civil sexual abuse attorney, please click here.

Former NHL star and one-time Chicago Blackhawk winger Theoren Fleury has recently come forward revealing that he was sexually abused by a junior hockey coach as a minor. Fluery, who spent time with the Flames, Avalanche, Rangers and Blackhawks penned an autobiography in late 2009 detailing the sexual abuse that he suffered. The alleged abuser, registered Canadien sex offender Graham James, was previously convicted of molesting fellow former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy in 1997. Canadien news interests reported earlier this month that James received a pardon in 2007 relative to that conviction. A Canadien pardon has the effect of restricting access to a criminal record. As such, information related to James’s criminal conviction would be unavailable to any future potential employers, including junior hockey programs.

Fleury detailed the acts of childhood sexual abuse that he suffered in a 2009 autobiography entitled “Playing with Fire.” In that novel, Fleury described how years of sexual abuse left him depressed and suicidal. Fleury also claimed that the sexual abuse he endured lead to adult problems with alcohol, drugs, and gambling. Fleury is now an advocate for sexual abuse victims after the outpour of support that he received following the release of his book. He sees the recent news break regarding the pardon of James as an opportunity for childhood sexual abuse victims advocates to pressure the Canadien government to change their approach to sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse victims are often empowered through exposure. The story of Theo Fleury as an abuse victim is far too common however his ability to overcome the horrors he suffered and strive to protect future victims is inspiring. If you have been the victim of childhood sexual abuse and would like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

A Chicago area doctor is facing numerous allegations of sexual abuse as several former patients have come forward claiming that they were raped or otherwise abused. The doctor, Bruce Smith, is originally from New York and had completed a stint in the Army and attended the University of Hartford prior to his attending Loyola University in Chicago. He performed his residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital and began working at the South Side’s Kennedy Medical Service Corp. shortly thereafter. Dr. Smith subsequently spent time working at Michael Reese Hospital before launching his own practice called Cameo Women’s Healthcare.

The first sexual abuse allegation against Smith occurred in May of 2000 while Smith was working at Kennedy Medical Service Corp. During that time period one of Smith’s patients, 19 year old Tameka Stokes, claims that she was raped while receiving a pelvic exam. In total seven women came forward alleging either rape or sexual misconduct against Smith before any action was taken by law enforcement or the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Smith’s medical license was suspended in October of 2009 for a minimum period of nine months. The Cook County States Attorneys Office had previously reviewed the rape allegations and declined to press charges. Several of those earlier victims have been recently contacted by detectives.

Illinios law recognizes sexual exploitation in the doctor-patient relationship. If you have been sexually abused by a doctor, you should contact a personal injury attorney to investigate the facts surrounding the abuse. Chicago sexual abuse lawyer Joseph G. Klest has over twenty eight years of experience handling sexual abuse claims in Illinois. To contact the Klest Law Firm please click here.

An Antioch, IL, daycare owner was charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse last Friday at a Lake County courthouse. Michael Moskowitz, a 49 year-old resident of 1010 W. Osmond Ave., was taken into custody on allegations that he had sexually abused an 8 year-old family member. Moskowitz had operated a licensed in home day care center in north suburban Antioch since 2006. The center’s license has been suspended by the Department of Children and Family Services (“DCFS”) as the police are investigating the sexual abuse allegation. The DCFS office has also removed six children that lived with Moskowitz at his Antioch home.

The aggravated criminal sexual assault charges facing Moskowitz are Class 2 felonies carrying up to seven years in prison. His bond has been set at $50,000.00.

Sexual abuse victims can suffer lasting emotional, mental, and physical injuries. An experienced Chicago trial attorney can assist an abuse victim in bringing a claim against his or her abuser. If you have been the victim of sexual abuse or would otherwise like to speak to an attorney, please click here.