CHICAGO -- Michael Moss said he felt shame and guilt for years after he was sexually abused as a teenager by guards at a troubled Chicago juvenile detention center. Moss, now 30, spoke publicly Tuesday about his traumatic experiences as one of hundreds of survivors who’ve filed lawsuits recounting disturbing allegations of systemic sex abuse in youth detention facilities in Illinois. “I wouldn’t wish my situation on anybody,” he said during a news conference with about half a dozen other survivors surrounding him.
“I hope that justice is granted for the pain and suffering we all went through as kids.” 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 Moss and others who've filed lawsuits have. Most plaintiffs in the lawsuits are identified by initials.
Overall, 667 people have alleged they were sexually abused as children at youth facilities in Illinois through lawsuits filed since May . The complaints are part of a wave of similar lawsuits against juvenile detention in states including Pennsylvania , Maryland , New Jersey , New Hampshire , California and New York. The most recent Illinois complaints, filed Monday, detail alleged abuse from 1996 to 2021, including rape, forced oral sex and beatings by corrections officers, nurses, kitchen staff, chaplains and others.
The complaints, from the accounts of 272 people, cover state-run youth juven.