A 25-year-old black woman filed suit Feb. 7 in Cook County circuit court against south suburban Harvey for mishandling a rape kit that allowed her rapist to go uncharged for 14 years.
“After being failed at home, this young woman should have been able to trust that local police would follow through with their most basic levels of investigation,” said Yao Dinizulu, an attorney representing the female victim named in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. “The abuse could have ended there had police done their jobs. There is a pattern of gross negligence in the city of Harvey that has led to the suffering of countless other victims. We’re asking a jury to send a strong message that such egregious malfeasance won’t be tolerated.”
Harvey has a population of 24,659 whose residents are majority black, according to census data.
The suit seeks an unspecified monetary award but does specifically accuse Harvey officials of failing to protect her rights under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; infliction of emotional distress; willful and wanton neglect; and fraudulent concealment.
After what Dinizulu described as “countless molestation” against Jane Doe, she remained living in the home with the alleged offender Robert Buchanan, who is her stepfather.
“This is another example of how the system failed her. Protocol is for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to remove the offender or the minor victim from the home until the matter is resolved,” Dinizulu added. “But DCFS confirmed that they do not have a file for my client, which means they were never notified about it.”
It would not be until 2004 when Jane Doe turned 18 that she moved out of the home.
Richard Calica, who was appointed in November by Governor Pat Quinn as director of the DCFS, did not return calls by Crusader press time. At press time, Buchanan, 45, could not be reached for comment.
In August 1997 at age 11 when the allege molestation began, Jane Doe said she told her mother about the assaults by Buchanan, also named in the lawsuit as a defendant.
Her mother then took her to a hospital where a rape exam was performed and DNA evidence was gathered. The hospital sent the rape kit to the Harvey Police Department as standard protocol, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
However, the rape kit along with 200 more was never sent to the state crime lab for further analysis so Buchanan, while questioned by police, was never charged. At the time Buchanan was a correctional officer at Cook County Jail.
It was not until 2007, when a raid on the Harvey Police Department by the state’s attorney office, that the rape kit was discovered. And as part of the investigation, the state’s attorney office obtained a DNA sample from Buchanan to compare with the DNA originally obtained in the rape kit in 1997. Finally on Sept. 12, 2011, the state crime lab notified the state’s attorney office of a match.
Buchanan was charged in September with predatory criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony and punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Harvey police officials said the allegation brought to them was properly investigated to the best of their ability.
“Based on information we have been able to review with respect what occurred in 1997, we believe the Harvey Police Department diligently investigated this criminal sexual assault. Unfortunately at that time, criminal charges could not be sustained against any particular individual for this horrific crime,” said Sandra Alvarado, a spokeswoman for Acting Harvey Police Chief Denard Eaves. “Harvey investigators, however, never abandoned this matter. Last year, taking advantage of technology which did not exist in 1997, investigators from the Harvey Police Department working with investigators of the state’s attorney office were finally able to bring charges against Robert Buchanan for the criminal sexual assault of his stepdaughter.”
But Alvardo also pointed out that the alleged incident occurred prior to Eaves being appointed acting police chief.
“This case from 1997 predates this administration and it is regrettable that the victim was unable to have her assailant brought to justice due to circumstances that were beyond the control of the Harvey Police Department,” she explained. “The Harvey Police Department takes every crime seriously and is grateful to its steadfast investigators and help given by the Illinois State Police to, hopefully, bring some degree of closure to the victim and her family.”
Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg was unavailable for comment.
Jane Doe said she is now going public because she wants to encourage other rape victims to come forward and not be ashamed or afraid and she also wants closure in her life.
“I am at a point in my life where I am not scared,” she told Examiner.com in a phone interview. “I hope to gain closure with this lawsuit because I have had to deal with a lot since this occurred. I know what was done to me was not right. God has told me so.”
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