Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Announces Charges Against Former Hartgrove Hospital Mental Health Counselor for Repeated Sexual Assaults of Minor Patients

CHICAGO — The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) has filed five felony counts of sexual assault against a former mental health counselor at Hartgrove Behavioral Health Hospital. Edmund Rivers, 68, is accused of sexually abusing five victims, boys between the ages of 7 and 14 years old, in repeated attacks at the Chicago facility between 1996 and 2004.  

Rivers is charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault with a victim between 13 and 17 and two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault for the alleged abuse, which occurred over a period of 12 years. Following a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Monday, a judge ordered that Rivers remain detained.  

"This alleged abuse is horrific, and the survivors have shown tremendous courage coming forward to report these allegations after so many years. Instead of receiving support during a vulnerable time in their youth, these victims were allegedly violated by someone in a position of trust and authority. My office takes sexual assault cases extremely seriously and will wield the full power of the law to hold offenders accountable and protect the community,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said.   

Rivers worked at Hartgrove Behavioral Health Hospital from 1993 to 2004 as a mental health counselor and had direct contact with multiple minor patients every day, according to information prosecutors presented in court. The facility, now known as Hartgrove Behavioral Health System, is located in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood on the West Side and provides psychiatric care.    

According to prosecutors, the alleged abuse of the five minors occurred in multiple locations throughout the facility – patient rooms, a “seclusion” room, a cafeteria bathroom and a gym equipment room. The five victims did not know each other, and each recalled that Rivers would allegedly threaten to sedate them with a hypodermic needle syringe for failing to comply with his advances, prosecutors said. Several of the victims came forward and contacted police after learning about a civil lawsuit filed against Hargrove Hospital for a pattern of abuse by its staff.  

CCSAO has approved charges in connection to the following cases:

State’s Attorney Burke thanked the Chicago Police Department for its thorough investigation and the CCSAO’s Sex Crimes Against Children Unit, particularly Assistant State’s Attorneys Joseph Steinfels, Bobbie Irvin and Deputy Supervisor Krista Peterson, for their work on this case.