One of the young women who was sexually assaulted by an overnight manager at a troubled South Side foster facility when she was a teenager said she “felt relief” last week after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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“Initially it was really nerve-wracking … because I didn’t know how things were gonna go,” Yadira Escamilla told the Tribune on Monday. “When the sentencing came, I was just happy that he actually got some time.”
Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski handed down the 30-year sentence to Trulon Henry on Friday.
The 41-year-old was found guilty in March of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child under 13, as well as multiple counts of criminal sexual assault against three children including Escamilla, according to court records.
The Tribune first reported on the details of the case in a story published in June. Escamilla had filed a lawsuit against Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness, the nonprofit that operated the now-closed residential facility, and its security contractor, A-Alert Security Services.
In the suit and in a subsequent interview, Escamilla described being sent to stay in the basement of the facility where there were no windows and no security cameras. This room was where Henry first physically restrained and sexually assaulted the then-17-year-old, she said.
“It was scary because I didn’t really have any more access to anybody,” Escamilla, now 20, said. “I was just locked there downstairs.”
On another occasion, a staff member allegedly returned to the basement hallway while Henry was assaulting Escamilla, the lawsuit said. Escamilla was partially undressed which “made it obvious” that it was an “inappropriate situation,” but the employee didn’t report or investigate it, according to the lawsuit.
After her previous complaint that another resident told her Henry wanted to see her at night was allegedly ignored, she was afraid to report him again. Henry’s abuse continued from January through April 2024, and happened primarily during his overnight shifts, the suit said.
Escamilla said she was happy Henry will go to prison, but she believes he deserves more time. He was sentenced to four years on each count of criminal sexual assault and six years on the predatory criminal sexual assault, which run consecutively, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
She said it was painful to relieve the abuse in court but that it was worth it to get justice for herself and the other girls.
Henry’s public defender had filed a motion for a new trial, alleging that the state had failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The motion was denied, but Escamilla said it was stressful waiting for a decision.The Cook County public defender’s spokesperson declined to comment.
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Escamilla also shared in a victim impact statement the immense toll the abuse took on her mental health.
“I do try to continue to push to try to heal those wounds, but mainly I just want awareness, so that this does not happen to any other child,” she said. “I made reports, and I wish they would have been taken seriously from the beginning.”
Escamilla’s attorney, Margaret Battersby Black, said the sentence reaffirms the credibility of Escamilla’s story.
“If he can be found guilty in a criminal proceeding beyond a reasonable doubt … that makes I think her and me feel very good about our civil case going forward,” she said.
Escamilla alleged in the suit that Aunt Martha’s and A-Alert Security failed to protect her from repeated sexual abuse and grooming despite “obvious indicators of misconduct.” The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was later added as a defendant.
Aunt Martha’s hired Henry, a former University of Illinois football player, to work with at-risk children even though he had previously been convicted of felony armed robbery. Henry spoke about his criminal record during his football career for numerous news articles and even a segment on the Big Ten Network.
Aunt Martha’s previously declined to comment and couldn’t be immediately reached Monday. The nonprofit has denied many of the allegations in court filings.