A worker at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles has been charged with official misconduct.
Daily Herald file photo
A worker at the state youth detention center in St. Charles has been accused of official misconduct over allegations she had sexually-oriented interactions with a teenage detainee.
Bryana E. Phelan, 31, of the 1500 block of West 80th Street in Chicago, faces 15 felony counts, according to a news release from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.
According to the release, prosecutors say she performed forbidden acts from Nov. 11 to 15, 2024, while working as a juvenile justice specialist at the Illinois Youth Center’s Phoenix Emerging Adult Career and Education Center in St. Charles.
The PEACE Center houses males ages 17 to 20. Workers are forbidden from socializing with people in custody.
The complaint accuses Phelan of having multiple phone conversations with a 17-year-old boy and driving him around the facility in a state vehicle for personal reasons.
It also accuses her of having a sexual relationship with him, including by making phone calls of an offensive or sexual nature.
She was charged Aug. 25. She has been summoned to appear in court Sept. 18.
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