Adams County Juvenile Detention Center Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
If you or a loved one survived sexual abuse by staff at the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center in western Illinois, you have legal rights and options for holding the responsible parties accountable for the harm they caused.
Have you experienced sexual assault or abuse?
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- The Adams County Juvenile Detention Center is a western Illinois juvenile detention facility located near the Missouri border.
- Although there have been no allegations of sexual abuse at the Adams County facility so far, it has a history of non-compliance with federal rape-prevention requirements, solitary confinement standards, mental health care, and more.
- If you or your child experienced sexual abuse at the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center, Helping Survivors can help you learn more about your legal rights and options and connect you with experienced legal representation.
Over the last few years, hundreds of survivors of juvenile detention center sexual abuse in Illinois have taken legal action against the state and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice for failing to protect them from predatory staff. The lawsuits allege systemic failures statewide that led to abuse proliferating, such as inadequate staffing, a lack of staff oversight, and a system that punished victims for reporting abuse.
No allegations of sexual abuse at the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center have been raised yet in these lawsuits, but any survivors of sexual abuse at the facility are encouraged to come forward. Childhood sexual abuse can have a devastating lifelong impact on survivors, and it’s crucial to hold the responsible parties accountable to prevent further harm.
What is the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center?
The Adams County Juvenile Detention Center is a juvenile detention facility in Quincy, Illinois, that provides detention and behavioral programming services for youth aged 10 to 17. The facility’s maximum capacity is 32, and only minors alleged to have committed a delinquent offense can be detained there. To be detained, a juvenile must be a danger to the community or themselves, likely to flee, or have been taken into custody under a warrant.
The facility provides services to Adams County, Illinois, and 11 surrounding counties in Illinois and Missouri.
Table of Contents
- What is the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center?
- Abuse Allegations at Adams County Juvenile Detention Center
- How Did Sexual Abuse Occur at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers?
- Rights and Options for Survivors of Sexual Abuse at Adams County Juvenile Detention Center
- Illinois Laws on Sexual Abuse
- Types of Compensation for Juvenile Detention Sex Abuse Cases
- Contact Helping Survivors for Legal and Support Resources
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Abuse Allegations at Adams County Juvenile Detention Center
The Adams County Juvenile Detention Center has not yet been named in juvenile detention center sexual abuse lawsuits across Illinois. However, the facility has a history of non-compliance in annual inspections by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, or IDJJ.
In September 2025, an IDJJ inspection found the facility noncompliant in discipline, mental health care, education, staffing, and other areas. There was excessive use of room confinement— at least 2-3 times per week—due to short staffing. Meanwhile, shift supervisors were not always available due to insufficient staffing. Additionally, the facility has no Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA, coordinator to supervise compliance with PREA standards, and it has not undergone a formal PREA audit.
The 2025 inspection also found a lack of mental health assessments upon admission and individual service plans for youth in need, as well as a lack of educational authority and special education teachers.
How Did Sexual Abuse Occur at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers?
Although no allegations of sexual abuse at Adams County’s juvenile detention facility have yet been raised, nearly 1,000 lawsuits have been filed over allegations of abuse at other juvenile detention facilities across Illinois. The lawsuits allege a pattern of staff sexually abusing minor inmates. Current lawsuits include allegations against guards, corrections officers, counselors, teachers, and other staff members at facilities statewide, often stemming from a lack of oversight, isolation, and unaddressed staff misconduct.
According to a 2018 national survey by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly one in 10 youth inmate respondents in Illinois juvenile detention facilities reported experiencing sexual victimization in custody—roughly 35% higher than the national average.
Illinois had the sixth-highest percentage of youth in juvenile facilities reporting sexual victimization in the country, according to the survey.
Rights and Options for Survivors of Sexual Abuse at Adams County Juvenile Detention Center
Filing a Complaint with Oversight Agencies
Reports of abuse at the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center can be made directly to the facility online or by calling 217-214-6364. Additionally, survivors can report sexual abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice at 217-557-1030 or the Department of Children and Family Services’ Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE.
Reporting to Law Enforcement
Survivors of sexual abuse at juvenile detention facilities in Illinois, like the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center, can report the abuse to law enforcement to begin a criminal investigation. In 2019, Illinois removed the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, so there is no time limit to report. However, it is important to consult an attorney before reporting to local law enforcement to ensure your rights are protected.
Filing a Civil Lawsuit
After experiencing sexual abuse in a juvenile detention center, survivors may be eligible to file a civil lawsuit against the operators and oversight agencies of the facility to seek accountability and compensation.
An experienced sexual abuse attorney can assist survivors by investigating, gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, filing a lawsuit, negotiating for a settlement, and litigating the case, even taking it to trial if necessary. Contact Helping Survivors to get connected with an attorney for a free case evaluation.
Illinois Laws on Sexual Abuse
In Illinois, the deadline to file a civil lawsuit for juvenile detention center sexual abuse depends on how long ago the abuse occurred.
If the abuse took place on or after January 1, 2014, there is no statute of limitations. However, for abuse that occurred before 2014, survivors generally have until their 38th birthday or within 20 years of discovering the connection between the abuse and their injuries, whichever is later.
Types of Compensation for Juvenile Detention Sex Abuse Cases
Though compensation in juvenile detention sexual abuse cases is not guaranteed, many survivors are eligible to recover monetary damages for economic and non-economic losses, such as medical expenses, therapy costs, lost wages, pain, suffering, emotional distress, and more.
The compensation available depends on factors like the duration, frequency, and severity of the abuse, as well as whether the facility took any action to prevent or stop it.
Contact Helping Survivors for Legal and Support Resources
If you or a loved one experienced sexual abuse while detained at the Adams County Juvenile Detention Center as a minor—even if it occurred years ago—you have legal rights and options for holding the responsible parties accountable.
At Helping Survivors, we work to inform survivors of their rights, help them access support resources, and connect them with our partner law firms. Our legal partners work with survivors to file civil lawsuits against the individuals and institutions that perpetrated and enabled the abuse to compensate victims for their suffering. Get legal help here today.
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