Chicago man indicted in sexual assault of developmentally disabled Marklund resident

A Kane County grand jury indicted a man accused of sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled woman with six felonies, court records show.

The victim is a resident of the Marklund Hyde Center Campus near Geneva who gave birth April 10 at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, officials said.

Marklund is a nonprofit that provides residential, educational and therapeutic services to individuals with profound developmental disabilities.

Court records show Isaiah S. Fields, 22, of Chicago, was indicted last month on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a person unable to understand or give consent, Class X felonies; one count of criminal sexual assault of a person unable to understand or give consent, Class 1 felony; and two counts of aggravated battery of a person with a physical disability, both Class 3 felonies.

The most serious charges Fields faces are the three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, Class X felonies, punishable by six to 30 years in prison if convicted.

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 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.

The woman who was assaulted has been a resident for more than 20 years, Fonger said.

Employees were unaware of her condition because part of her disability was a distended abdomen. When her labs were reviewed, she was taken to Delnor on April 9. Marklund officials were notified that she was pregnant and there was a case of sexual abuse, Fonger said.

“Since the sexual abuse incident first came to our attention, they’ve been monitoring staff at all sites,” Fonger said.

In addition to the Hyde Center located in the Mill Creek subdivision in Blackberry Township, Marklund also has residential facilities in Elgin and Bloomingdale.

“There were minor revisions in policy and procedures and with exit surveys. No new noncompliance was found,” Fonger said. “They did some minor changes to our policies, but nothing substantial was changed in what we are doing.”

Social services provided support to other employees and staff since the incident came to light.

“Staff has responded amazingly well through this whole thing,” Fonger said. “It’s tough being under monitors coming in and questioning staff about policies and procedures. It was incredibly stressful, but they went through it all with amazing dignity.”

Fonger said because of medical privacy he could not comment about the child.

“Marklund has never had a question about any of our (IDPH) surveys throughout the years,” Fonger said. “This was one horrific, evil incident. 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, according to court records.