Dozens Sexually Abused in Pennsylvania Juvenile Detention Centers: Lawsuit

Dozens of children were sexually and physically abused while incarcerated in juvenile detention centers and similar facilities across Pennsylvania, according to four lawsuits filed Wednesday.

The lawsuits, filed by 66 men and women, accuse officials of failing to protect victims or punish their perpetrators – including nurses, guards and supervisors – despite widespread and well-known cases of child sexual abuse.

The indictments detail instances of sexual abuse ranging from “inappropriate strip searches to violent rape.”

The victims, now adults, say the abuse took place at three Pennsylvania Department of Human Services facilities – the Loysville Youth Development Center, the South Mountain Secure Treatment Unit and the North Central Secure Treatment Unit in Danville – as well as facilities at the Villanova-based Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health and Tucson, Arizona-based VisionQuest National.

Another facility that was the subject of one of the lawsuits is Northwestern Academy in Coal Township, Pennsylvania, operated by Merakey USA, which closed in 2016.

But that’s not enough, says lawyer Jerome Block, whose New York law firm filed the lawsuits.

“Our clients were sent to Northwestern Academy when they were children who needed help, support and understanding. Instead, they were sexually abused by the very adult staff whose job it was to keep them safe,” Block said in a press release.

Anna Kull, who filed a lawsuit against the Devereux Foundation on behalf of “18 courageous survivors of childhood sexual abuse,” said her reports expose “reckless” policies that continue to enable predatory behavior and violence against an already vulnerable population.

Fifteen people held in state facilities pointed to a persistent “culture of exploitation, violence and rampant sexual abuse,” noting that children have long been victims of guards, counselors and other staff.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

With News Wire Services