COOK COUNTY – A former Chicago mental health counselor is accused of sexually abusing five young patients over an eight-year span, Cook County prosecutors said Monday.
What we know:
Edmund Rivers, 68, is charged with sexually abusing five boys at Hartgrove Behavioral Health Hospital, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said the victims were between 7 and 14 years old, and the alleged abuse occurred at the facility between 1996 and 2004.
Edmund Rivers, 68. (CCSAO)
Rivers faces three counts of criminal sexual assault involving a victim between 13 and 17, and two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault.
What they’re saying:
“This alleged abuse is horrific, and the survivors have shown tremendous courage coming forward to report these allegations after so many years. 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. My office takes sexual assault cases extremely seriously and will wield the full power of the law to hold offenders accountable and protect the community,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said.
The backstory:
Rivers worked at the hospital from 1993 to 2004 and had daily contact with multiple minor patients, prosecutors said. The facility, now known as Hartgrove Behavioral Health System, is located in the Austin neighborhood.
The alleged abuse occurred in several areas of the hospital, including patient rooms, a seclusion room, a cafeteria bathroom and a gym equipment room, according to prosecutors.
The victims did not know one another, and each told authorities that Rivers threatened to sedate them with a hypodermic needle if they did not comply.
Several victims contacted police after learning about a civil lawsuit that alleged “a pattern of abuse” by hospital staff, prosecutors said.
The state’s attorney’s office approved the following charges:
Criminal sexual assault
• Victim age: 14
• Incident year: 1996
Predatory criminal sexual assault
• Victim age: 8–9
• Incident years: 1997–98
Criminal sexual assault
• Victim age: 14
• Incident years: 1999–2000
Predatory criminal sexual assault
• Victim age: 7–9
• Incident years: 2001–03
Criminal sexual assault
• Victim age: 12
• Incident year: 2004
What’s next:
Rivers appeared in court Monday, where a judge ordered him to remain detained.
RELATED: More than 100 former patients file major lawsuit against Universal Health Services for alleged abuse
The Source: The information in this article was reported by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.