Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law on Friday that strengthens the range of penalties that a state watchdog can mete out for health care employees who conspire to hide abuse or interfere with investigations by the state police or internal oversight bodies.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the work of Lee Enterprises investigative reporter Molly Parker and others had highlighted the need for the "transformational" changes now being planned at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Southern Illinois. The plans come after months of reporting by Capitol News Illinois, Lee Enterprises and ProPublica that detailed abuse and neglect at the state-run facility for residents with developmental disabilities.
Timeline of Choate employees' arrests and outcomes
2014: Mark Allen, Curt Ellis, Justin Butler and Eric Bittle
Accusation: A resident was brutally assaulted by one or more mental health techs in December 2014 who sought to cover up the abuse and interfere in a state police investigation.
Charged employees, clockwise from left: Mark Allen, Curt Ellis, Justin Butler and Eric Bittle
Charges: In 2016, Allen was charged with aggravated battery and intimidation, and Ellis, Butler and Bittle were charged with obstruction of justice.
Outcome: A few months after they were charged, Ellis, Butler and Bittle pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for failing to report the abuse; in 2021, Allen pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for concealing evidence.
2016: Chayla Brown
Accusation: In 2016, a mental health tech slapped a patient with an open hand while the individual was eating breakfast.
Charged employee: Chayla Brown
Charge: In 2017, Brown was charged with felony aggravated battery.
Outcome: In 2018, she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery.
2017: Cheryl Muckley
Accusation: A facility administrator took home patient injury reports and other private medical records that ended up stashed in a personal storage shed in 2017.
Charged employee: Cheryl Muckley
Charge: That same year, Muckley was charged with felony altering/destroying public records.
Outcome: Later that year, she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal damage to property.
2017: Victor Metzger
Accusation: A mental health tech punched a patient, breaking two of his ribs, in 2017.
Charged employee: Victor Metzger
Charge: In 2017, Metzger was charged with felony aggravated battery.
Outcome: In 2021, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery.
2017-2018: John Lingle, Cody Barger
Accusation: Two mental health techs failed to report harm to a patient that resulted in a broken arm sometime between September 2017 and March 2018; during that same time frame, one of them also failed to report that he’d witnessed another employee force a patient to drink a cup of hot sauce.
Charged employees, from left: John Lingle, Cody Barger
Charge: In 2020, Lingle and Barger were charged with official misconduct/obstruction of justice.
Outcome: In 2021, Lingle and Barger received a “second chance” probation sentence in lieu of pleading guilty to reduced felony charges of obstruction of justice for destroying evidence.
2018: Stacy Thomas
Accusation: In May 2018, a nurse stole Clonazepam, a prescription drug used to treat seizures and anxiety disorders, from Choate.
Charged employee: Stacy Thomas
Charge: In 2019, Thomas was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and theft under $500.
Outcome: In 2019, Thomas pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
2019: Greg Johnson, Ruth Massie and Paris Ferguson
Accusation: In 2019, two mental health techs held down a patient while a third assaulted the individual.
Charged employees: Greg Johnson, Ruth Massie and Paris Ferguson
Charge: In 2021, Johnson was charged with felony aggravated battery, and Massie and Ferguson were charged with unlawful restraint.
Outcome: In 2021, the charges against Johnson and Massie were dismissed; the charge against Ferguson was dismissed in August.
2020: Kevin Jackson, three others
Accusation: A mental health tech struck a patient multiple times with a belt in January 2020, and three administrators took actions that interfered with the Illinois State Police’s investigation into the incident.
Charged employees: Kevin Jackson (pictured), a mental health tech; facility director Bryant Davis; and assistant directors Gary Goins and Teresa Smith
Charges: Jackson was charged with aggravated battery; Davis, Goins and Smith were charged with official misconduct, and Smith additionally with obstructing justice.
Outcome: Jackson pleaded not guilty and his case is pending; charges were dismissed against Davis, Goins and Smith.
In this Series
See full coverage of abuse, cover-ups at Choate
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Updated
Brutal beatings, abuse plague Illinois-run mental health facility, special investigation reveals
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Updated
Culture of cruelty persists despite decades of warnings at Illinois-run mental health facility
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Updated
Illinois governor calls for changes after 'awful' reports of abuse at developmental center
- 10 updates
