A former Chicago mental health counselor has been accused of abusing five boys, ages 7 to 14, when he worked at Hartgrove Behavioral Health Hospital, Cook County prosecutors announced Monday.
The prosecutors have accused Edmund Rivers, 68, of sexually abusing the children at the West Side hospital between 1996 and 2004.
Rivers began working at the hospital in 1993 and worked directly with minor patients, allowing him to abuse the victims at several locations at the facility, including patient rooms, a bathroom and a gym equipment room, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, the children did not know each other, but each said Rivers allegedly threatened to sedate them with a syringe if they resisted.
Several of the victims went to the police after learning about a civil lawsuit, filed last year, that alleged a pattern of child sexual abuse at Hartgrove.
“This alleged abuse is horrific, and the survivors have shown tremendous courage coming forward to report these allegations after so many years,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement. “Instead of receiving support during a vulnerable time in their youth, these victims were allegedly violated by someone in a position of trust and authority.”
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Edmund Rivers last month. A judge ordered Rivers to be detained after a hearing Monday.
The hospital, now known as Hartgrove Behavioral Health System, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Related Posts:
- Federal prosecutors say ex-Loveland police officer violated victim’s trust by sexually assaulting her in August 2023 Uncategorized Jurors are deliberating whether Dylan Miller, the former Loveland police officer accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl while on duty in August of 2023, is guilty of violating her civil rights. To cap a more than two-week long trial of 30-year-old Miller in U.S. District Court in Denver, federal…
- Federal prosecutors say ex-Loveland police officer violated victim’s trust by sexually assaulting her in August 2023 News Jurors are deliberating whether Dylan Miller, the former Loveland police officer accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl while on duty in August of 2023, is guilty of violating her civil rights. To cap a more than two-week long trial of 30-year-old Miller in U.S. District Court in Denver, federal…
- Granddad back in UK and in arms of daughter-in-law he was accused of trying to drown in Florida pool News Mark Gibbon was arrested after trying to drown his daughter-in-law Jasmine Wyld on holiday in Florida (Picture: Polk County Sheriff’s Office) A granddad who ‘tried to drown his daughter-in-law lover’ in a Florida swimming pool has returned to the UK. Mark Gibbon has returned to his job as an electrical…
- Woman charged with stealing from Bay Area animal rescue now accused in Target thefts News A Rohnert Park woman is accused of stealing merchandise from local Target stores while already facing charges in a forgery case involving the theft of at least $18,000 in donations from Dogwood Animal Rescue, police said Tuesday. Jennifer Chenier, 37, is charged with six counts of misdemeanor petty theft in…
- Woman charged with stealing from Bay Area animal rescue now accused in Target thefts News A Rohnert Park woman is accused of stealing merchandise from local Target stores while already facing charges in a forgery case involving the theft of at least $18,000 in donations from Dogwood Animal Rescue, police said Tuesday. Jennifer Chenier, 37, is charged with six counts of misdemeanor petty theft in…
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)