A group of brave survivors is stepping forward to demand justice after enduring childhood sexual abuse in Pennsylvania juvenile detention and residential treatment centers. Represented by Levy Konigsberg and co-counsel, over 65 men and women have filed sexual abuse lawsuits against entities like the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, the government of Delaware County, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, and VisionQuest National for their decades-long failures to protect children from repeated sexual abuse while confined in their facilities. Over the last two months, Levy Konigsberg and co-counsel have now filed nearly 150 cases arising from sexual abuse at juvenile detention and residential treatment centers in Pennsylvania.
The juvenile detention and residential treatment centers covered in the lawsuits filed today include:
- Loysville Youth Development Center, North Central Secure Treatment Unit, and South Mountain Secure Treatment Unit – all run by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
- Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center
- Carson Valley Children’s Aid
- Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health
- Northwestern Academy
- Presbyterian Children’s Village
- St. Gabriel’s Hall
- VisionQuest
Despite federal and state investigations, criminal prosecutions, and widespread reporting on the persistent sexual abuse and horrific conditions at these facilities, the public and private entities running allowed the culture of abuse to flourish, traumatizing generations of vulnerable children.
The men and women who filed claims today include those who suffered sexual as far back as 2001 and as recently as 2020. Unfortunately, current law in Pennsylvania bars individuals who were born prior to November 26, 1989 from bringing claims for childhood sexual abuse. As a result, untold numbers of survivors who were abused in earlier decades continue to suffer in silence.
According to the lawsuit, many different staff at juvenile detention facilities were involved in sexual abuse, such as:
- Correctional/detention officers
- Counselors
- Teachers
- Supervisors
- Managers
- And others
Despite the well-documented abuse of children in juvenile detention and residential treatment centers, little was done by authorities to protect these children or to punish their abusers. Many of the same staff members are named as abusers by multiple plaintiffs in today’s filings, evidencing the fact that these abusers were allowed to continue in their jobs, harming more children year after year.
In 2010, the director of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Juvenile Justice Services dismissed federal reports of sexual abuse in facilities across the state, saying that children in the facilities “whose IQs are rather low” could not understand questions about whether they had been abused.
It is this shocking and callous negligence on the part of the both public and private authorities that has prompted the filing of these lawsuits.
Leading the Way for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Levy Konigsberg and its team of dedicated trial attorneys are at the forefront of childhood sexual abuse litigation, having filed some of the first lawsuits about widespread sexual abuse in juvenile detention facilities across the country. Over the past year, Levy Konigsberg’s pioneering lawsuits on behalf of hundreds of men and women who were abused as children in juvenile detention facilities in Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, and Michigan have made national news, being covered by major outlets like the Assocaited Press and the New York Times. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]. In May and June 2024, Levy Konigsberg filed on behalf of over 80 individuals who were abused at juvenile detention and residential treatment centers in Pennsylvania. [8] [9] [10].
In announcing today’s lawsuit filed on behalf of over 65 men and women, Levy Konigsberg Partner Jerome Block stated:
“For decades, children have been sexually abused in juvenile detention centers in Pennsylvania. The operators of these facilities include the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and private corporations who put profit ahead of the safety of children. These institutions and the adult staff who perpetrated this widespread sexual abuse must be held accountable. Many of these juvenile facilities where the sexual abuse occurred remain open and we have seen no evidence that the inadequate procedures and policies that enabled the sexual abuse have been fixed. Levy Konigsberg represents hundreds survivors of sexual abuse at juvenile detention and residential facilities across Pennsylvania and plans to continue fighting tirelessly on their behalf.”
Levy Konigsberg is a nationwide trial law firm with a proven track record of representing survivors of sexual abuse. We have the strength, size, and resources needed to file lawsuits against government agencies, religious groups, medical institutions, and more. If you want to know if you can file a claim for childhood sexual abuse that occurred at juvenile detention or residential treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, then speak with our team today.
Please call 800-315-3806 now and request a free, initial consultation with our firm.