We are experienced Chicago attorneys who help with sexual abuse cases everywhere in Illinois. Call us at 312-346-5320 for a free, confidential consult with an attorney.

We often see sexual abuse cases in Illinois where one person has authority over the other, so they are able to pressure them into various sexual acts. It’s gross. The abuser may convince themselves in their mind that the sex is consensual, but it almost never is.

While all of these are bad, I’m not sure it gets much worse than a prison employee doing it to an inmate. They may have the ultimate power imbalance as they can make life hell for a prisoner.

That’s what happened to a female inmate at the Logan Correctional Center in Logan Illinois. She was assigned to a counselor who she had to visit weekly and work with on making phone calls and getting job assignments.

The counselor would use that time to coerce her into sex acts and also would make sexual comments to her when she was on the phone with her daughter. She was transferred to a different housing unit which was supposed to mean she’d get a new counselor, but he made it so she stayed with him. He also told her that his friend who was a supervisor at the prison gave him advice how to avoid punishment if he got accused of sexual abuse.

Finally through her own efforts and persistence she was able to get a new counselor and the abuse stopped. During this time the prison received reports that abuse might be happening but didn’t stop it. It wasn’t until an IDOC employee made a complaint about the counselor that a real investigation happened. As a result the abused prisoner got sent to Decatur which resulted in her being farther from her family and unable to finish schooling she started.

She sued in Federal Court and won a judgment of $19.3 million. And she deserves every penny. It’s disgusting how she treated. And by the way, she was sexually abused for years. Somehow the counselor has not been arrested yet.

A similar power imbalance exists with cops and prosecutors. There is a suburban State’s Attorney who was arrested for coercing a criminal defendant into sexual favors to avoid a case going forward. There have been many cases where cops have induced sexual acts in return for not getting arrested.

We have helped many people file lawsuits in these situations and are always happy to help because it does feel we are really getting justice in those cases. We help everywhere in Illinois and if you want a free, confidential consultation, call us at 312-346-5320.