The Illinois Department of Children & Family Services was hit with two more pieces of bad news on Friday.
It came a day after the Illinois Auditor General hit the agency with evidence of mismanagement of children in their care at the agency.
DCFS Director Marc Smith was held in contempt of court and fined $1,000 per day for the tenth time since January 6th yesterday in Cook County. The court has accused the agency of failing to place a child appropriately in violation of court orders.
The tenth contempt order involves a 13-year-old girl who was warehousing in a locked psychiatric hospital, where she had been ready for discharge since March 21st, according to court documents obtained by CBS Chicago. Cook County officials claim that despite repeated requests and court orders over the past year to provide the girl consistent trauma-focused therapy to address a history of sexual abuse/exploitation, DCFS failed to provide the needed treatment. Authorities say in this latest contempt finding, fines will began accruing on Friday.
The second bit of bad news comes out of Montgomery County, where according to WICS Newschannel 20, DCFS employee 40 year old Brett A. Wexstten of Nokomis was arrested Thursday by Montgomery County authorities for five counts of possession and distribution of child pornography.
WAND-TV reports that the crime occurred on September 20th of last year and that the arrest was made yesterday after a search warrant was executed at a residence in Nokomis. WAND-TV says that police that Wexstten admitted to the crime.
According to state online salary records obtained by WICS, Wexstten is an information services specialist with DCFS that worked a help desk in the agency and had no direct contact with children. A spokesperson for DCFS told WICS that Wexstten has been placed on administrative leave. The Montgomery County State’s Attorney Office told WICS that Wexstten is also a coach for a girls’ sports team.
Wexssten is currently being held at the Montgomery County Jail on bond. If Wexstten posts bond he would be placed on home confinement with GPS monitoring. He would also not be allowed to have contact with anyone under the age of 18. Additionally, he would not be allowed to have electronic devices or access to the internet.
He is next set to appear in Montgomery County Court this Friday on a first appearance with counsel and bond status.