Hundreds sue the city over alleged sexual abuse in juvenile detention centers

When they were both 15, Nijere Stewart loved stilt walking and Clyde Wiggins enjoyed recording music before they experienced alleged sexual abuse at the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville that changed their adolescence forever.

Law firm Levy Konigsberg LLP said Thursday it has filed a total of 250 civil lawsuits since April, including 100 this week. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of former inmates of juvenile detention centers, all of whom accuse the inmates of sexual abuse by guards, counselors and other staff.

The lawsuits are made possible by the Gender Motivated Violence Protection Act, a law passed by the City Council in 2022 that creates a two-year deadline allowing former victims of sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits at any time until March 1, 2025.

Allegations of sexual abuse have long been a problem in New York City’s prison system. Last month, the city paid $1.6 million to a man incarcerated at Rikers Island who was abused by a physical therapist. Last year, hundreds of women filed rape lawsuits against the Department of Corrections.

Jerome Block, partner at Levy Konigsberg, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Councilwoman Alexa Aviles (D-Brooklyn) met with survivors of alleged abuse and youth and justice advocates at Brooklyn City Hall on Tuesday to denounce and address the “culture of secrecy” that they say enables abuse to continue.

Clyde Wiggins speaks at Brooklyn City Hall about his alleged sexual abuse while incarcerated at a youth correctional facility in the city, June 13, 2024. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

“The most important change that needs to happen is the culture. The culture needs to believe that the juvenile justice system is meant to educate, rehabilitate and put kids on the right path, and that kids need to be valued and protected,” Block said at the news conference. He alleged that clients at Crossroads, which is run by the Administration for Child Services, have been raped, forced to perform oral sex or other sexual acts, threatened and manipulated.

“If there is no cultural change, this will continue,” said Block.

He added that there should be neutral bodies in the facilities to which young people can turn to report any misconduct.

In a written statement to the city, ACS spokeswoman Marisa Kaufman said the agency does not tolerate sexual abuse or sexual harassment and is committed to implementing a 2003 federal law to eradicate inmate rape in all types of correctional facilities.

“ACS has a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual abuse and sexual harassment of juveniles in detention facilities, and we are committed to preventing and eliminating sexual abuse and sexual harassment through compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act,” Kaufman said, adding, “Earlier this year, we implemented an updated policy to prevent, detect and respond to sexual misconduct in detention. We will review all complaints filed.”

“An innocent child”

Stewart, 30, said police arrested him after officers found a gun under the stairs where he and his friends hung out in his Crown Heights apartment building. The gun did not belong to any of them. He said he was sexually abused, beaten and starved at the Crossroads Juvenile Center.

“I was an innocent boy with straight A’s who loved playing with his brothers and walking on stilts in Crown Heights,” Stewart said at the press conference, before he “became traumatized and ashamed as a teenager because I had to live a nightmare every night in front of the adults who were supposed to protect me.”

In his petition, he claims that around 2008, “a male Crossroads employee regularly abused his position of power and sexually assaulted Stewart.”

Today, Stewart, a father of three, still walks on stilts and teaches others in his community to do the same.

After five months at Crossroads Hospital, Stewart said he found it difficult to return to society, but he encouraged others to speak out.

“I didn’t want to be involved with people like that. It was pretty tough, both mentally and physically,” he told THE CITY. “In the future, I’m just going to talk about it and encourage people who have been abused to come out. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

Wiggins, 34, said he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time, hanging out with the wrong people” when he was charged with aggravated robbery and sent to Crossroads Prison, where he was held for three years.

Two young men spoke at Brooklyn City Hall about being victims of alleged sexual abuse while in a juvenile detention center (June 13, 2024). Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

“Basically, people sent us somewhere I had no business being. The police came. There was a lot going on. I was charged. Everyone blamed me because I was the youngest there,” Wiggins told THE CITY, noting that his classmates encouraged him to report because they thought he would not face any penalties since he was the youngest in the group and had no criminal record at the time.

In his lawsuit, he claims that a tutor repeatedly forced him to perform oral sex on her and bribed him with food and alcohol from outside.

Wiggins, originally from Brownsville, said he enjoyed recording music before his incarceration, but found it difficult to return to that creativity after his release.

His six-year-old son helped rekindle that spark.

“He’s actually discovered his passion for rapping. He makes his own little songs and stuff,” Wiggins said. “With my son, I’m finally rediscovering that passion.”

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