About IYC Warrenville
Illinois Youth Center Warrenville (IYC Warrenville) is a state youth center in Naperville, Illinois, run by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.
IYC Warrenville is a State maximum-security facility for girls; after a July 2024 fire, its youth moved to St. Charles. Lawsuits filed by survivors allege a pattern of sexual abuse of teenage girls by staff at the facility.
Illinois Youth Center Warrenville opened in 1973. IDJJ lists it as a maximum-security facility for girls with a capacity of 70, and it has also served some boys. On July 15, 2024, a kitchen fire caused significant damage to its main building; all 34 youth on campus were evacuated safely and moved to IDJJ's PEACE Center in St. Charles. IDJJ's July 2026 report counts Warrenville's 24 youth as still housed at St. Charles.
IDJJ lists Warrenville's programs as including GED and high school diploma services, in-patient substance abuse treatment, vocational programs, mental health services and family reunification. However, survivors allege that staff members exploited their positions to sexually abuse vulnerable girls in their care.
Lawsuits filed by survivors detail horrific patterns of abuse at IYC Warrenville. One former resident who had multiple stays beginning around 2014 when she was 13 alleged that five separate correctional officers sexually abused her. The abuse allegedly occurred two to three times a week during her various stays.
Staff members allegedly gave victims cigarettes, marijuana, and extra snacks as "rewards for enduring the abuse." When victims threatened to report the abuse, they faced retaliation including extended confinement.
Illinois General Assembly — Court of Claims Act, 705 ILCS 505/8
The Illinois Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction over all claims against the State for damages in cases sounding in tort, if a like cause of action would lie against a private person or corporation in a civil suit.
Source: 705 ILCS 505/8
WTTW Chicago (June 2024)
Another girl who had multiple stays at IYC-Warrenville—beginning around 2014 when she was 13—alleged five separate correctional officers sexually abused her. The officers would allegedly sexually abuse her two-to-three times a week during her various stays. The officers would give her cigarettes, marijuana and extra snacks as a "reward for enduring the abuse."
Source: WTTW Chicago
WBEZ Chicago (July 2025)
One woman recounted an alleged incident at Illinois Youth Center Warrenville where at least five staff members entered her cell and took off her clothes. Then, she said, a male staff member sat on her naked body and touched her inappropriately.
Source: WBEZ Chicago
Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (July 15, 2024)
The Illinois Youth Center at Warrenville, a secure facility of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ), sustained significant fire damage to its main building yesterday afternoon. … All youth and staff were safely evacuated, and youth were transported to the Department's PEACE Center in St. Charles.
Source: IDJJ Press Release (PDF)
IDJJ Quarterly Report (July 2026)
Due to a fire, the population of Warrenville is currently housed at St. Charles.
Source: IDJJ Quarterly Report (PDF)
