CHICAGO – A former collegiate football player whose story of second chances made headlines, is now in the spotlight again, accused of sex crimes against children in DCFS custody.
Trulon Henry, 39, is charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and predatory criminal sexual assault stemming from crimes he allegedly committed while employed by Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness in Bronzeville.
A warrant for Henry’s arrest was issued on May 21, according to court records. At that time, sources said, he was on the run. Henry was picked up by authorities in Prince George’s County in Maryland last week and extradited back to Chicago, where he faced a judge, and was ordered detained.
The criminal complaint filed in Henry’s case was sealed by a judge, but WGN-TV has learned at least three girls, all minors, came forward with claims of sexual misconduct involving Henry. The victims were part of the Integrated Care Center, a program that serves abused and neglected DCFS youth in Cook County.
Upon learning of the allegations, Aunt Martha’s said it suspended and subsequently fired Henry.
WGN-TV was told that the first victim told staff of the misconduct in April. Staff called the DCFS hotline, which alerts police when a report of abuse is received. The following two reports were brought to their attention the following month, both of which were called into the DCFS hotline, and reported to police.
“In these cases, the trauma stays with these people, oftentimes, for the rest of their lives,” Martin Gould said.
Gould, a partner at Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley, is not connected to the case but specializes in representing survivors of sexual abuse in cases across the country, including in Chicago.
“In this case, there was young children that had an individual that was supposed to be taking care of them. The state, the private entities that may or may not have been involved, have the obligation to do a thorough background check to make sure they weren’t putting convicted felons, particularly those that have served time in prison, directly responsible for these children,” Gould said. “I have the feeling that balls were dropped, that this should have been picked up, and that this individual should have been in a position he was in, where he was directly supervising these children without any other oversight.”
Henry, a former safety for the Fighting Illini football team, served four years for an armed robbery conviction in federal prison before a coach on the team gave him a second chance.
According to Aunt Martha’s, there were no violent convictions on his background check, which would have disqualified him for employment with the facility.
“All Aunt Martha’s employees working with youth-in-care go through a rigorous state-mandated background check which includes fingerprinting and other screenings. If any report were to come back disclosing an individual had a violent felony conviction, they would be barred from employment,” a spokesperson for Aunt Martha’s wrote to WGN.
Gould said when conducting background checks for any individuals who may be working with vulnerable persons, that check should be the baseline, with additional searches conducted to ensure nothing is missed.
“Anybody could have quickly found it, at no expense, that he was a convicted felon with a very concerning history, he shouldn’t have been hired in the first place, and if they did hire him, which they shouldn’t have, he certainly should have been supervised,” Gould said.
This is the second case of sexual assault allegations stemming from the same facility in the last few months.
A security guard at the youth center was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old at the facility, which allegedly occurred last year. In late February, 33-year-old Antonio Hopkins, who worked for a third-party security company, A Alert Security, was taken into custody and charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
The security company was contracted by DCFS to provide security to the facility. WGN-TV learned the company is no longer working with Aunt Martha’s, though it is not clear whether it still works with other DCFS programs.
WGN-TV reached out to DCFS regarding the new allegations and steps the facility has taken since the previous came to light.
The agency said the investigation remains open and active and involves DCFS and law enforcement working closely. It also confirmed no youth remain at the facility.
“Upon learning about certain allegations at the ICC, DCFS immediately took action and began looking for a clinically appropriate new placement for all youth at the facility and successfully moved all youth as of June 30, 2024,” a spokesperson for DCFS wrote.
DCFS also confirmed an intake hold was instituted at Aunt Martha’s and remains in place. It also put in place around-the-clock monitoring, which continued until all youth were moved out.
“Our efforts remain focused on conducting a thorough investigation of this matter and ensuring the safety of our youth in care,” a spokesperson wrote.
Another statement shared with WGN-TV by a spokesperson for Aunt Martha’s said: “Aunt Martha’s learned of allegations against employee Trulon M. Henry earlier this year and promptly reported it to DCFS and cooperated with law enforcement authorities. Henry was fired and is now criminally charged. There is an ongoing investigation into his misconduct and Aunt Martha’s is providing any and all cooperation to ensure Henry is held accountable.
“Meanwhile, the victims are youth-in-care of the Department of Children and Family Services. Because of privacy protections we cannot provide additional information other than DCFS has these youth under care and safeguarded.”