Hands Around the Courthouse highlights child abuse awareness, prevention

More than 100 people filled the lobby of the Kane County Courthouse Thursday in Geneva, stood in a circle and held hands as they marked the 22nd annual CASA Kane County Hands Around the Courthouse.

The event brings attention and awareness to child abuse and neglect each April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

“We shouldn’t need a month to dedicate ourselves to preventing something as harmful as child abuse can be,” Chief Judge Robert Villa said.

But at the same time, Villa said, he was reminded that the community is filled with people willing to volunteer on behalf of children.

CASAs are court-appointed special advocates who provide support for children in the court system. Guardians ad litem, or GALs, advocate for the child’s needs and make recommendations on custody and visitation.

They speak for the children in court, Villa said.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about what you have or what you accomplished,” Villa said, quoting actor Denzel Washington. “‘It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.‘”

Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser added a quote from Winnie the Pooh: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

“This is what we need to be telling our children every single day,” Mosser said. “And those children – who are in households where they are abused or neglected – don’t hear even the smallest portion of it.”

Mosser said her office has divisions for abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, a Special Victims Unit and at the Child Advocacy Center, Mosser said.

“That’s their job,” Mosser said. “They see what other people perpetrate on the most vulnerable in our community and especially the children.”

Her staff also goes to schools to talk about what abuse and neglect looks like and how it can be reported.

“In 2022, we launched our Child Exploitation Division, which I think is moving mountains, here in Kane County,” Mosser said.

In 2022, they arrested three people for these crimes, 20 in 2023 and 31 last year, she said.

CASA Kane County Executive Director Jim Di Ciaula marked the event by reading a poem by Simba, a 13-year-old boy from Uganda.

“Child abuse! Child abuse! Why do you torture us? ... For how long are we going to be neglected? We are denied food, clothes, shelter, safe water and education. Defilement and rape is a song everywhere,” Di Ciaula read.

In 2024, CASA Kane County served almost 700 children who experienced abuse and neglect, Di Ciaula said, almost twice the number served in 2019.

“We need to look not only on prevention and intervention efforts, but also to examine overall programs, services and initiatives to equip youth for a life of independence,” Di Ciaula said.