Chicago man indicted in sexual assault of developmentally disabled Marklund resident
A Kane County grand jury has indicted a man accused of sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled woman, court records show.
The victim, a resident of the Marklund Hyde Center Campus near Geneva, gave birth on April 10, officials said.
Court records show Isaiah S. Fields, 22, of Chicago, was indicted last month on three felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a person unable to understand or give consent, one felony count of criminal sexual assault of a person unable to understand or give consent, and two felony counts of aggravated battery of a person with a physical disability.
The assault took place sometime between Aug. 1 and Sept. 5, 2023, according to the charging documents.
Fields is being held without bond at the Kane County jail, records show.
His attorney did not respond to a voicemail message seeking comment.
The woman’s legal guardian filed court papers last month to assert the victim’s rights in the criminal case.
Marklund is a nonprofit that provides residential, educational and therapeutic services to individuals with profound developmental disabilities. In addition to the Hyde Center, Marklund has residential facilities in Elgin and Bloomingdale.
Marklund President and CEO Gil Fonger said the Illinois Department of Public Health released all three of Marklund’s residential facilities as being in compliance with state regulations after surveying all of them.
“Whenever you have an incident like this, IDPH takes you through a whole process until they release you from their oversight,” Fonger said. “We’ve been in that process since April.”
The Hyde Center serves 96 adults with severe and profound developmental disabilities who live in six 16-bed intermediate care facility homes.
Fonger said the woman who was assaulted has been a resident for over 20 years.
Employees there were unaware of her condition because part of her disability was a distended abdomen. When her labs were reviewed, she was taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital on April 9.
Then Marklund officials were notified that she was pregnant — and that there was a case of sexual abuse, Fonger said.
Fonger said because of medical privacy, he could not comment about the child.
“This was one horrific, evil incident,” Fonger said. “It’s the worst circumstance I’ve had in my entire career. It was a gut punch.”
Fields’ next court date is scheduled for Aug. 14.