Illinois lawmakers pass legislation to protect victims who sue for sexual abuse
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois lawmakers have passed new legislation spurred by the story of a woman who was sexually abused by a teacher, only to have a psychiatrist claim that not all cases of sexual abuse are traumatic when she sued Chicago Public Schools.
The woman, who is now in her 30s, was abused by a teacher at Hubbard High School in the early 2000s.
She later sued Chicago Public Schools and the teacher, Walter Glascoff, who had admitted to district investigators that he had sex with the victim while she was in high school. Glascoff resigned after CPS moved to fire him.
During a deposition in her lawsuit, a CPS-paid licensed psychiatrist testified that not all cases of sexual abuse are traumatic, a comment that outraged the victim and some state lawmakers.
"It was a terrifying experience. It's kind of hard to heal from, and it's hard to have people try to invalidate that," the victim told CBS News Chicago earlier this year.
Now state lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at making it clear that sexual assault on students is always traumatic. It also includes language that prevents defendants from blaming child sexual abuse survivors in civil lawsuits.
The Illinois House unanimously approved the legislation in May, and the Illinois Senate passed it unanimously this week. It will now go to Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature.
CPS settled the victim's lawsuit for $800,000 in 2019.