2nd Suit Alleges Sex Abuse At Elgin Mental Health Center

ELGIN, IL – A second lawsuit has been filed in federal court alleging a former social worker at the Elgin Mental Health Hospital sexually abused a patient, according to media reports. The most recent allegations by former patient Mark Owens are similar to claims made by 24-year-old Ben Hurt of Aurora, who filed a lawsuit against Christy Lenhardt in November.

Attorneys from the Law Offices of Stuart R. Kretchmar, the firm that represents Owens and Hurt, told media outlets Lenhardt manipulated both men and sexually abused them while they were under her care.

The most recent lawsuit, which seeks $10 million in damages, claims Lenhardt, 53, threatened to change Owen's diagnosis or medication if he denied her sexual advances, Kretchmar told the Daily Herald. The suit also names Elgin Mental Health Center and several doctors who are believed to have known about the abuse.

Attorney Joe Cecala said Lenhardt sent sexually explicit e-mails and pictures with nudity, according to CBS Chicago.

“It’s a form of psychological slavery,” Cecala said of the type of abuse Lenhardt used to lure his clients.

Regarding the lawsuit filed in November, attorneys say Lenhardt sexually abused Hurt, of Aurora, for three years and kept him as her "sex slave," according to a CBS Chicago report from November.

“She engaged in all kinds of various sexual misconduct. The graphic details are every sex act that you can imagine,” Cecala told the TV station.

Attorneys are also questioning why the Elgin Mental Health Center and employees who worked at the Center didn't do more to address the abuse.

“How did this woman operate for more than a decade without being detected?” Cecala said in a CBS Chicago report.

Lenhardt was fired in July. The sexual abuse allegations are under investigation by Illinois State Police, the Daily Herald reports.

More via CBS Chicago and the Daily Herald

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