CHICAGO (CBS) — Illinois lawmakers have passed new legislation spurred by the story of a woman who was sexually abused by a teacher, but a psychiatrist has argued that not all cases of sexual abuse are traumatic as she sued Chicago Public Schools.
The woman, 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 admitted to district investigators that he had sex with the victim while she was in high school. Glascoff resigned after CPS wanted to fire him.
During a deposition in her lawsuit, a CPS-licensed psychiatrist paid testified that not all cases of sexual abuse are traumatica 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 debunk that,” the victim told CBS News Chicago earlier this year.
Now, state lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at making clear that sexual abuse of students is always traumatic. It also includes language that bars defendants from blaming child abuse survivors in civil lawsuits.
The The Illinois House unanimously passed the legislation in Mayand the Illinois Senate passed it unanimously this week. It now goes to Governor JB Pritzker for his signature.
CPS settled the victim’s lawsuit for $800,000 in 2019.
