Ex-social worker at Elgin Mental Health Center accused of sexual misconduct

A former social worker at the Elgin Mental Health Center was arrested Thursday on charges she had sexual relations and contact with a patient there from November 2014 through July 2017.

Christy L. Lenhardt, 53, of the 200 block of Paine Street in South Elgin, faces eight counts of sexual misconduct with a person with disabilities and six counts of official misconduct, according to Kane County court records.

She is accused of allowing a male patient to touch her inappropriately and engaging in sex acts with him over the course of more than 2½ years, records show.

Illinois State Police investigated the case, but Master Sgt. Mike Link said he couldn't comment because it is an ongoing case and deferred inquiries to the Kane County state's attorney's office.

Kane prosecutors could not immediately say if Lenhardt was a social worker assigned to the patient.

Meghan Powers, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Human Services, said Lenhardt is no longer employed by the state. Powers could not immediately say how long or in what capacities Lenhardt worked for the Department of Human Services.

Lenhardt is being held at the Kane County jail on $100,000 bail, meaning she must post $10,000 to be released while the case is pending. She is next due in court on April 20.

If convicted, she faces a punishment ranging from probation to up to five years in prison. If convicted of the official misconduct charge, she also could lose any pension benefits she accrued because she committed a felony in the course of her duties.