Feb. 06--The family of a Lombard man who died last month in the DuPage County Jail filed a federal lawsuit this week, alleging that jail staff failed to provide appropriate medical care.
The suit was filed Monday in federal court in Chicago by the father of Sebastiano Ceraulo, who died in the jail Jan. 7 of what the suit said was dehydration and electrolyte depletion caused by withdrawal from heroin.
The suit alleges that jail staff failed to provide adequate medical attention to Ceraulo and acted in disregard to his medical needs. The suit was filed against "unknown" DuPage County sheriff's deputies and staff.
The county sheriff's office, which operates the jail, had no comment on the suit because it is pending. The DuPage County state's attorney's office also declined to comment. The state's attorney represents the sheriff's office in civil disputes.
Ceraulo, who was 21, was taken into custody Jan. 4 for violation of parole, according to the suit and court records. Soon after he began demonstrating "clear and obvious signs of withdrawal from heroin," the suit said. The jail failed to care for his worsening condition, which resulted in his death, the suit said.
An autopsy was performed, but Coroner Richard Jorgensen said Thursday that his office has not yet issued a cause of death because it still is awaiting results of lab and toxicology tests. He said his office expects to have those results in about a week.
According to court records, Ceraulo was convicted of burglary in 2014 for taking a debit card and cellphone from a Lombard apartment. He was placed on probation, and in December 2015 prosecutors filed a petition to revoke that probation.
Prosecutors alleged that Ceraulo had violated the terms by committing a burglary and retail theft in September, according to files. He also had failed to appear at the probation department to give required urine samples intended to make sure he was not using drugs. On two occasions when he did complete tests, the samples came back positive for the presence of drugs, prosecutors said.
He had failed several court-ordered attempts at drug rehabilitation, files said. The lawsuit said Ceraulo had begun using heroin in late 2012 and by late 2013 was using the drug daily.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
