CRESSON SECURE TREATMENT UNIT SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors Abused at Cresson Secure Treatment Unit

The Cresson Secure Treatment Unit in Cambria, Pennsylvania, provided treatment and rehabilitation for young people involved in the criminal justice system. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services permanently shut down the facility in 2015. Government reports and investigations revealed that there was a high rate of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse at the facility.

Now, a growing number of survivors are stepping forward to file civil lawsuits to hold Cresson Secure Treatment Unit administrators accountable for the physical and sexual abuse they experienced and for their failure to fulfill their duty of care. 

If you or someone you love were sexually abused at Cresson Secure Treatment Unit, Pennsylvania, attorneys at Levy Konigsberg want to help. Our team has extensive experience litigating sexual abuse lawsuits on behalf of survivors and knows how to help survivors fight back.

History of Sexual Abuse in Cresson Secure Treatment Unit

Cresson Secure Treatment Unit has faced widespread criticism for its inability to protect adolescent detainees from violence and sexual assault. Extensive government investigations and reports suggest that the facility permitted frequent sexual assault and mistreatment of young inmates. 

The findings of these many investigations revealed that the accountable parties, including the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and the administrators at Cresson Secure Treatment Unit, established an environment favorable to abuse due to a lack of sufficient oversight and suitable avenues for reporting abuse. Examples of sexual abuse in the Cresson Secure Treatment Unit include the following: 

• In January 2010, a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation reported that the Cresson Secure Treatment Unit in Cambria County had some of the highest rates of juvenile inmates reporting sexual victimization in the country. The DOJ survey polled thousands of juvenile offenders in detention  nationwide between June 2008 and April 2009. One out of three of the young people detained at Cresson reported being sexually abused while in custody, which is almost three times the national average. 

Do I Have a Case?

You may have grounds to file a civil legal action if:

• You were sexually abused by a guard, counselor, nurse, or other youth residential treatment or juvenile detention center staff member.
• The abuse occurred at any youth residential treatment or juvenile detention facility.

Levy Konigsberg represents survivors in civil lawsuits that aim to hold youth residential treatment facilities,  juvenile detention centers, private healthcare companies, and other facility operators accountable for their failures to stop abusive staff members and protect young residents.

As civil claims, these cases are separate from any criminal proceedings that may arise from abuse and focus instead on holding institutions liable for damages. This means you may still have a claim even if:

• Your abuser is no longer alive.
• Your abuser was never charged with or convicted of a crime.

Recoverable Damages in Sexual Abuse Claims

In addition to providing accountability and a sense of justice, civil sex abuse lawsuits allow survivors to recover financial compensation for their damages, which may include:

• Past medical and mental health expenses
• Future mental health expenses, including therapy, medications, etc.
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and psychological harm
• Lost income
• Other economic and non-economic damages

Pennsylvania Sexual Abuse  Attorneys

In Pennsylvania, the current statute of limitations for civil sex abuse claims is the age of adulthood plus 37 years, which means that survivors sexually abused as minors typically have until the age of 55 to file legal action, as long as they were born after November 26, 1989.

As in other states across the country, Pennsylvania’s current statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims has been criticized for barring numerous survivors from seeking justice and compensation for their damages and for failing to recognize accepted research about the considerable difficulties survivors face when processing their abuse and taking steps to come forward. Thanks to new efforts by advocates and lawmakers, however, there are now several pending measures before the Pennsylvania Legislature that seek to expand the rights of child sex abuse survivors.

These groundbreaking measures, which are expected to pass, will create new opportunities for survivors to step forward and obtain long-overdue justice. If passed, these measures would create a temporary two-year window for child sexual abuse survivors to file claims over abuse that occurred at any time in the past.

Levy Konigsberg is actively investigating allegations of sexual abuse at any Pennsylvania juvenile detention and youth residential treatment centers.

We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society and seeking justice for survivors of sexual abuse in juvenile detention centers and youth residential treatment facilities. Our experienced team is dedicated to providing legal representation and support to survivors, and we are actively investigating allegations of abuse. We are working tirelessly to ensure that survivors have access to justice and that future generations of young people are safe from harm within these institutions.