A former counselor at a Chicago behavioral health center was charged with sexually abusing five young patients in the late 1990s and early 2000s, prosecutors said.

Edmund Rivers, 68, was previously employed as a mental health counselor at Hartgrove Behavioral Health Hospital, which is currently known as Hartgrove Behavioral Health System. He was charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault and two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault in connection with alleged crimes involving 7-to-14-year-old boys between 1996 and 2004, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said.

According to prosecutors, Rivers abused minor patients in several locations at the facility, including patient rooms, a "seclusion" room, a cafeteria bathroom and a gym equipment room. The five victims, who d

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