A former Illinois social worker is facing over a dozen criminal charges after she allegedly made one of her patients a “sex slave.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, 53-year-old Christy L. Lenhardt was arrested Thursday morning and booked on 14 felony counts stemming from a 2017 lawsuit. The woman is accused of sexually abusing a person with mental disabilities while she was employed at Elgin Mental Health Center outside of Chicago.
The patient, 24-year-old Benahdam Hurt, came forward with the allegations last November, claiming Lenhardt sexually abused him during a three-year relationship “that included regular trysts in her office and his bedroom in the state-run facility.”
Hurt was sentenced to the facility in 2014, after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for felony aggravated battery of a police officer. He is now under treatment at Chicago Read Mental Health Center. Lenhardt resigned from her position last August.
“We are aware that a former Elgin Mental Health Center employee has been arrested,” Meghan Powers, a department spokeswoman, told the Tribune. “Due to pending litigation, we cannot provide any further comment.”
According to a federal lawsuit, Hurt claims Lenhardt admitted to have sexual relationship with two other male patients. One of the men is believed to be child kidnapper and registered sex offender Angelo Rotunno, who allegedly escaped from the Elgin facility in 2006 with Lenhardt’s help. Rotunno remains missing.
In January, another Elgin patient named Mark Owens filed a separate lawsuit against the ex-social worker, accusing her of sexual misconduct on at least three different occasions. Both Owens and Hurt are seeking $10 million in damages.
Lenhardt is due back in court on April 20. She will face the eight counts of sexual misconduct with a person with disabilities and six counts of official misconduct. If convicted, she could serve up to five years in prison.
