The Hyde Park family of a 13-year-old girl filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against not only her alleged attacker, but also the Cook County Adult Probation Department.
The suit claims that 34-year-old Acurie Collier should have been behind bars when he allegedly broke into a South Side home last July and sexually assaulted the teenaged girl.
The girl's mother, who wished to remain anonymous to protect the identity of her daughter, said she walked in immediately after the assault and restrained Collier for 45 minutes until police arrived and took him into custody.
Collier is being held on $1.5 million bond and scheduled to appear in court on February 17.
But the current charge isn't Collier’s first. He was charged two years earlier with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child between 13 and 16 years old and aggravated criminal sexual assault.
Collier is listed as a sexual predator on the Illinois State Police's sex offender website and, according to a report by the Illinois Policy Institute, was caught violating the terms of his probation as many as 41 times prior to last summer's alleged attack.
The Cook County Adult Probation Department’s lack of action following these numerous violations is what prompted the victim’s mother to press charges against Jesus Reyes, the acting chief probation officer.
The nine-count suit, filed Wednesday by attorney Tim Cavanagh, is suing for negligence, claiming the department and Collier’s probation officer could have prevented the attack by taking action after any of Collier’s violations.
The Office of Chief Circuit Court Judge Timothy C. Evans, who runs that department, said they could not publicly comment on cases pending in court.
