Every student deserves to feel safe when pursuing their education. Whether they are in elementary school, middle school, high school, or even higher education at colleges or universities, school administrators and officials have a duty to protect them from harm.
Unfortunately, sexual abuse and sexual assault happen, and these young people suffer the consequences for the rest of their lives. Children, teens, and young adults who are sexually abused by educators, staff, or even their fellow peers suffer tremendous harm from physical injuries to mental impacts.
If you suspect school sexual abuse, you need Illinois school sexual assault legal assistance. 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers, a PI law firm based in Illinois, provides legal representation for school sexual assault in Illinois. A school sexual assault lawyer in Illinois can help you review your legal rights. While the prosecution will be focused on the criminal charges and criminal trial, you have the right to file a civil lawsuit to hold these reprehensible people responsible for their heinous actions.
844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers is a team of sexual abuse lawyers that can provide the compassionate and confidential support needed for these types of sensitive matters. Sexual abuse victims deserve justice and the right to enjoy their lives again after sexual abuse and sexual assault. Contact us today to seek compensation and schedule a free initial consultation.
Overview of School Sexual Assault Cases in Illinois
School sexual abuse and sexual assault are terms for a variety of inappropriate behaviors that are committed at educational institutions. These could be any type of school, from preschool all the way up to sexual abuse and assault at college campuses.
These broad terms can involve sexual violence like date rape, unwanted touching, sexual harassment, nonconsensual sexual acts, and other forms of sexual behavior. A victim of sexual assault may experience sexual abuse at the hands of a teacher, coach, school nurse, member of school staff, or other school officials and administrators. Even regular school volunteers may be exposing students to school sexual abuse, or other children may be the perpetrators of this sexual harassment or sexual assault. Regardless of who commits it, these actions cause emotional damage that impacts school sexual abuse survivors for the rest of their lives.
Understanding the Legal Process for School Sexual Assault
In school sexual abuse cases, the facts must be determined to prepare the case for a civil suit and pursue justice for abuse victims. School sexual abuse is an incredibly sensitive topic, and it’s difficult for survivors to face. However, coming forward not only allows you to prevent this from happening to someone else but also allows you to receive proper compensation.
No amount of money can make school sexual abuse disappear from your mind. However, compensation for the harm caused, for medical bills that stack up due to needing therapy or lost wages from being unable to work through the trauma, can help keep you afloat. Your pain and suffering, mental anguish, and other non-economic damages can also be compensated for school sexual abuse.
While you can take these actions without a sexual abuse lawyer, it is highly advised that you hire our professionals to protect your legal rights. We care about what happened to you and aim to make you comfortable while providing confidentiality and full support in your time of need. We listen and gather information, then file a complaint about the school sexual abuse endured. Our attorneys will negotiate for your compensation and seek justice for these abominable acts.
When school officials do nothing to stop school sexual abuse and sexual assault, they may be held liable for the far-reaching consequences. You do not have to live like this anymore. You didn’t do anything to deserve sexual abuse, and we will stop at nothing to make things right.
The Role of an Illinois School Sexual Assault Attorney
If you or a family member has suffered sexual abuse at the hands of educators, institutions, or other students, our law firm can help you seek justice. We know all too well how hard it is for victims to speak up after enduring emotional distress from the many forms of sexual abuse.
Once you contact our law firm, we begin by investigating and gathering evidence, all while protecting your rights and privacy. Sensitive topics like these must be handled delicately and with confidentiality. You are in good hands with the law firm 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers. We will fight to identify all liable parties and hold them accountable as we seek justice and fair compensation for all the devastation they have caused.
We negotiate and do not compromise when it comes to representing those who have endured school sexual abuse in any form. You can trust us to protect you while guiding you on the right track out of this darkness and back into the light.
Legal Rights and Protections for Victims
When school sexual abuse occurs, educators and educational institutions should be held accountable in cases where they did nothing to protect students from sexual assault and abuse, as well as other harms. All educational institutions in the state of Illinois must keep students safe from discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and sexual assault.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states that schools are required to address school sexual abuse and sexual assault by having policies and procedures in place to promote awareness, keep students safe, and give support to victims if any of these vile acts occur. Should any institution or staff member fall short of this obligation, they will be held financially responsible for school sexual abuse and sexual assault.
Unfortunately, many schools fail to take proper action when they learn of cases of sexual abuse or sexual assault occurring on their premises. Many of them will hide what happened to avoid having the school’s reputation tarnished. This is an outrage that our sexual abuse lawyers will fight to seek justice and hold them liable for not protecting students who have endured sexual assault and other types of abuse.
If your child was sexually abused at school, do not wait to get the legal support you need. Our school sexual abuse lawyers take allegations like these very seriously. Even if the perpetrators are not convicted in criminal courts, school sexual abuse victims can still hold them accountable for civil matters involving sexual abuse and sexual assault based on negligence and harm suffered.
Importance of Seeking Legal Help Immediately for School Sexual Abuse
When school sexual abuse occurs, parents as well as students may not realize what is going on. Students, especially young ones, are often subjected to this abuse without understanding that this person is harming them. Perpetrators commit these acts by gaining the trust of the children and making them feel special.
As for young adults in colleges, they may know what has happened is not right, but they may blame themselves. It is common for those who have been sexually abused to fall into substance abuse or commit acts of self-harm. They blame themselves for the abuse when the blame should be on the person or persons who committed these disgusting behaviors.
You might be asking yourself how you may be able to tell if your child was sexually abused. These signs may provide a clue, especially if they come on suddenly:
- Unwillingness to discuss things when they previously came to you with everything
- Withdrawn behavior
- Sudden desire to avoid school or participate in school-related activities they once loved
- Spending more time with a particular teacher in activities that aren’t related to or sponsored by the school
- Sleep disorders, including nightmares
- Keeping secrets
- Bodily injury, particularly in the genital area
- Tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases
- Committing acts of self-harm
- Drug or alcohol abuse
- Changes in eating habits
All of this boils down to the need to seek legal help from a law firm that is committed to upholding the rights of victims in devastating scenarios like these. Most students who are sexually abused suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and have other mental impacts that make it impossible to live an everyday life without getting treatment.
They may continue to engage in actions of self-harm, all because someone took advantage of them in the most inappropriate ways. Proving these types of damages is difficult to do without legal representation, as they aren’t tangible. However, with the help of our law firm, we will ensure we build a compelling case and protect you from these horrible people who ignored your pleas for help and allowed the abuse to continue, as well as your abusers.
How the Law Firm of 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help
If you or a loved one has suffered this type of abuse at the hands of educators and institutions, 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers can help you seek justice. We completely understand how hard it is for victims to speak up after enduring the many forms of sexual abuse, especially when it happens at school or these actions are from a teacher whom you looked up to and trusted.
Once you contact our legal team, we begin by investigating and gathering evidence while protecting your rights and privacy. We know how sensitive this topic is, and we do everything to make sure you feel safe and secure. You’ll be in good hands knowing that we will fight and name all liable parties to not only seek justice but also compensation for all of the impacts these heinous actions have had upon your life.
Victims have enough to worry about after suffering traumatic events like these, which is why we use a contingency fee model that allows you to hire us without paying us anything unless we win a settlement or verdict. We conduct thorough investigations and hire expert witnesses to help strengthen our case, using it as leverage to get you what is fair while preparing to put these perpetrators on the stand at trial.
If you suspect that your child is the victim of this type of horrific abuse, the first thing you need to do is contact the police. File a report and if it was right after the attack, the police will likely urge you to go to the emergency room to get a rape kit and take other tests that will preserve evidence. They will handle criminal charges, while our attorneys will be using this evidence for your civil claim. Sexual abuse can be physical and forceful, and left untreated, it may lead to permanent injuries. You should take your child to the doctor immediately if this is suspected, which will create medical records of the injuries, linking them to the sexual abuse.
After treatment, reviewing your legal options is best. At the law firm of 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers, our sexual abuse attorneys recognize just how difficult this is to discuss. Victims often blame themselves in some way, thinking that they somehow encouraged this to happen. School districts and universities, as well as all teachers, professors, and staff employed at these institutions, must conduct themselves accordingly, and taking advantage of students in a sexual way is a violation of that duty.
Each of our attorneys feels very strongly about these types of legal matters. We take these types of cases very seriously and take our duty to uphold justice and protect victims even more seriously. We will stop at nothing to seek the full amount of damages you deserve for these devastating actions.
Schedule a Confidential and Free Consultation for School Sexual Assault Cases
There is no reason why sexual abuse should ever occur, especially in schools. Schools should be a place of learning and where children make friends in their primary years. They should be the place where they grow into young adults and then adults as they move through the educational system.
It’s where they should be spreading their wings and flying into a bright future. When another person abuses them sexually, it halts this trajectory, and it quickly causes victims to suffer in so many ways. Get the help you need with a confidential, free initial consultation with our attorneys today.
