GLEN MILLS SCHOOLS SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors Abused at Glen Mills Schools

Glen Mills Schools, located in Pennsylvania, was the oldest youth detention center for male juvenile offenders between 12 and 21 years of age. The school aimed to reform troubled youth through education, vocational training, and discipline. However, it faced numerous allegations of abuse and mistreatment over the years. In 2019, after reports of widespread abuse and failure to protect the children in its care, the school was shut down by state authorities.

A growing number of survivors are coming forward to file lawsuits against Glen Mills, seeking accountability for physical and sexual abuse and accusing the school of protecting their abusers, even allegedly covering up the abuse. These survivors may be entitled to compensation for the physical, emotional, and mental scars they have as a result of the abuse, and that could impact them for the rest of their lives.

If you or someone you love were sexually abused at Glen Mills in 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 Glen Mills Schools

Former students under Glen Mills’ care have claimed enduring widespread and severe physical, sexual and emotional abuse and mistreatment for decades from those responsible for their care and supervision. According to lawsuits and investigations, Glen Mills nurtured an environment of fear, violence, and intimidation, hidden from public view until late 2018, when reports surfaced detailing a teenager’s account of a severe beating within the school.

In 2019, due to the Green Mills scandal, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services revoked Glen Mills’ license. The Pennsylvania Auditor General’s report highlighted failures by Glen Mills administrators and staff to safeguard students and uphold child abuse laws. A February 2019 investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer uncovered evidence of physical and sexual child abuse and a pattern of covering up such incidents spanning many years. Examples of child sexual abuse in Glen Mills Schools include the following: 

• In 2020, 300 former Glen Mills School students filed lawsuits alleging sexual and physical abuse by staff from 1976 to 2018. The alleged abuse includes rape, sexual assault, beatings, and death threats for reporting the acts. 

One of the former students, who attended the institution for around six months in 1987, said that he was sexually and physically abused many times and suffered emotional trauma as a result. Former residents and lawyers claim that the school officials covered up decades of abuse to avoid losing funding.

• In April 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services revoked Glen Mills Schools’ operating licenses due to documented cases of abuse against former students. Reports revealed that 13 employees were dismissed within five years, and many others were investigated for mistreating children at the school.
• In February 2019, The Philadelphia Inquirer conducted an investigation and discovered evidence of both physical and sexual child abuse, as well as a long history of cover-ups. The report states that Glen Mills has long been a place where significant violence is both familiar and openly discussed.

The Inquirer investigation uncovered a plethora of evidence—including internal documents, court records, incident reports, and dozens of interviews with students, staff, and others—indicating that school officials ignored abuse within their walls and failed to screen or train school counselors adequately. 

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.