Chicago, IL– A man has initiated legal action and is sharing his story regarding claims of child sexual abuse that occurred at the former Hartgrove Hospital in Chicago.
A man alleges that he was sexually assaulted during his childhood at a behavioral health facility in Chicago and is now sharing his story.
At the age of 35, John Doe recounted an incident from his childhood, revealing that he was assaulted at Hartgrove Hospital located on the West Side.
His legal team asserts that he is not alone in this matter. However, the hospital refutes those allegations.
According to attorneys, Doe is among nearly 100 former patients at Universal Health Services facilities throughout the state whom they represent. These individuals, now adults, allege that they were victims of sexual abuse during their childhood by the personnel employed at those institutions.
The structure located at 520 N. Ridgeway Ave. is currently known as Garfield Park Hospital. This facility is among over 300 in-patient psychiatric care centers for children, teens, and adults operated by Universal Health Services, a company based in Pennsylvania.
Back in 2001, it was known as Hartgrove Hospital.
“My mother felt that I needed to get some help for my behaviors,” Doe said.
At just 11 years old, Doe reported experiencing sexual abuse merely two days after beginning his extended stay.
“It was almost an every-other-day occurrence while I was there. If they took more than one of us, then they said they were going to have a group session. They would force us to do things to each other,” Doe said.
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Doe expresses a sense of helplessness. He claimed he faced threats of an extended stay if he spoke out about the abuse, which he stated was occasionally observed by other staff members.
“They walked in, and they laughed. It was a joke or a game. They would walk back out,” Doe said.
This week, attorneys representing Doe filed a lawsuit alleging that Hartgrove Hospital, now situated at a different location on the West Side of the city, has a longstanding history of child abuse that they assert continues to this day.
“We’re seeing a lot of the same names come up. That tells us there were serial predators that were there. These people were apex predators preying on the most vulnerable kids,” said Martin Gould, founding partner of Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley.
Throughout the years, Hartgrove and UHS have faced multiple inquiries, including a notable one in 2010 by the University of Illinois Chicago and another more recent investigation by the United States Senate just two years ago.
Despite UHS facing multiple multi-million dollar settlements linked to sexual abuse in the past, representatives for Hartgrove Hospital on Thursday challenged the claims made in the lawsuit.
“The safety of all patients is of paramount importance to Hartgrove Hospital and we take these allegations seriously. Based upon preliminary review of the lawsuit, Hartgrove denies the allegations against them and intend to defend this case vigorously,” Counsel Joseph McHale said in a statement.
Lawyers indicated that although their client recalls some faces and a few first names, they are optimistic that the discovery process will help them completely identify those responsible for the abuse he suffered in the past.