HORIZON JUVENILE CENTER SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors Sexually Abused at Horizon Juvenile Center in New York

If you were sexually abused by a staff member at the Horizon Juvenile Center in New York City, you may have grounds to pursue legal action and a financial recovery of your damages.

Levy Konigsberg has been at the forefront of representing survivors in lawsuits against the City of New York for the sexual abuse these survivors suffered while confined at juvenile detention facilities at the hands of City employees.  Levy Konigsberg has already filed over 500 cases on behalf of survivors of child sexual abuse at juvenile detention facilities throughout New York City, including Horizon.  

Of the more than 500 lawsuits filed, just under half involve abuse that occurred at Crossroads and Horizon Juvenile Detention Centers.

Levy Konigsberg is continuing to fight for the brave survivors of abuse at New York City juvenile detention centers.

On November 25, 2025, the New York City Council passed Introduction 1297, an amendment to the Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA).  Introduction 1297 reopens the GMVA lookback window for 18 months and explicitly reaffirms that the law applies not only to individuals, but also to institutions such as juvenile detention centers. This allows survivors with previously time-barred claims to bring their cases during the 18-month window and to seek justice against the institutions that enabled their abuse.

Horizon Juvenile Center, in particular, has faced considerable scrutiny over claims that children were regularly groomed and abused by staff. In addition to the numerous lawsuits, it is also the subject of an ongoing federal investigation.

Levy Konigsberg is a top-rated trial practice with a legacy of litigating sexual abuse lawsuits for survivors across New York and the nation, and is now reviewing claims from former Horizon Juvenile Center residents who were sexually abused by Youth Development Specialists and other staff. If you have a potential case, we want to help.

History of Sexual Abuse and Misconduct at Horizon Detention Center

Horizon Detention Center is a juvenile detention facility located in the Bronx. As a secure detention facility, Horizon houses over 200 alleged or adjudicated youth or young adult offenders. The center is operated by the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS).

In recent years, Horizon has come under scrutiny over declining and dangerous conditions within the detention center, as well as alarming patterns of misconduct and abuse committed by staff. These conditions have been highlighted by high-profile journalistic investigations and have prompted an investigation by federal authorities. For example:

• In 2023, Gothamist published a report about alarming misconduct among staff at Horizon. According to the report, inmates were regularly provided with drugs, cash, weapons, video games, fast food, and other contraband by a secret network of employees, including managers, kitchen staff, Youth Development Specialists, and other staff. Staffers say employee misconduct has become an increasingly larger problem since the passing of the Raise the Age law, which banned the practice of sending youth offenders to adult jails and resulted in a larger population of older, young adult inmates.

• In 2018, federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District launched an investigation into staff-on-inmate sexual abuse at Horizon Detention Center. The ongoing investigation stems from a 2015 Department of Investigation report that found ACS workers at the center failed to report staff members known to abuse inmates, as well as complaints and lawsuits that accused staff of grooming inmates by promising special treatment and contraband in exchange for sexual acts, and by revoking privileges when they resisted their advances.

Legal Filings Reveal Alarming Record of Sexual Abuse at Horizon Detention Center

In addition to the investigations, various legal filings have helped provide further insight into the scope of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse at Horizon and the detention center’s failures to stop it. This includes civil lawsuits brought by former residents who were abused by staff members and high-profile criminal cases against Horizon staff. Some examples include:

• In 2024 and 2025, Levy Konigsberg filed over 535 sexual abuse lawsuits on behalf of survivors who were sexually abused at Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx, Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx and Rikers Island. The lawsuits were filed against the City of New York for the sexual abuse these survivors suffered while confined at juvenile detention facilities at the hands of City employees. Some of these individuals were sexually abused at multiple juvenile detention facilities in New York City. The lawsuits allege that despite widespread reports, investigations, and campaigns to close or reform these juvenile detention facilities, the City of New York has allowed a culture of sexual abuse and brutality to continue unabated. The abuse endured by these plaintiffs stretches across decades. The lawsuits include allegations of heinous assault, groping, forced oral sex and rape perpetrated by staff members against juveniles at these facilities.

• Survivors allege repeated sexual attacks, including staff members entering survivors’ rooms at Horizon about three times a week, kissing and fondling them, and forcing them to engage in oral sex.

• In April 2023, former Horizon staffer Natasha Robinson was arrested and charged with sexual abuse, criminal sexual act, sexual misconduct, and official misconduct after video surveillance recorded her engaging in a sexual act with a male teen inside the facility. Robinson was terminated by the ACS following her arrest.

• In July 2019, a former Horizon inmate filed a federal lawsuit claiming that he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by former counselor Natalie Medford, who was also known as “Ms. C,” when he was 15 years old in 2012. The lawsuit also claimed that Medford threatened to plant drugs and weapons in his cell if he reported the abuse.

• In February 2019, New York City agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a 22-year-old Bronx man who claimed that he and other inmates were turned into “sex slaves” by staffers at Horizon. According to the suit, the man, who was housed at Horizon from 2013 to 2014, was offered special privileges and protection from disciplinary actions if he agreed to have sex with supervisor Natalie Medford. The suit also accused another staffer of engaging in inappropriate conduct with inmates and claimed that staff members looked the other way or encouraged abuse. Medford, who was in her 40s at the time of the abuse, was implicated in previous complaints, including a May 2018 lawsuit brought by an inmate who claimed that the ACS employee raped him 10 times beginning in 2013 and that he faced fake misconduct reports after putting an end to the abuse, and a Department of Investigation report which found that Medford had “an inappropriate sexual relationship” with a teen inmate.

These and other court cases have demonstrated what many former inmates and advocates have known for years: ACS employees at Horizon Detention Center regularly engaged in sexual abuse and misconduct involving male inmates and worked together to cover up the abuse by threatening and punishing victims and failing to report assaults committed by fellow staff.

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

New York Juvenile Detention Center Attorneys

A statute of limitations sets deadlines for victims to bring claims against their abuser or entities responsible for the abuse. New York has pioneered efforts to make it easier for sexual abuse survivors to seek justice and compensation.

In 2019, New York passed the Child Victims Act, expanding the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Under current law: (1) survivors of childhood sexual abuse at privately operated juvenile detention centers who were born after February 14, 1998, have until age 55 to file civil lawsuits; and (2) survivors of childhood sexual abuse at juvenile detention centers operated by governmental entities, who were born after November 15, 1999, have until age 55 to file civil lawsuits.

In addition, on January 29, 2026, the New York City Council enacted Introduction 1297, an amendment to the Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA). Introduction 1297 reopens the GMVA lookback window for 18 months. As a result, survivors with previously time-barred claims for sexual abuse that occurred in New York City and prior to January 9, 2022 can file lawsuits between January 29, 2026 and July 29, 2027. Survivors of sexual abuse that occurred in New York City and on or after January 9, 2022 have seven years to bring their claims.

Thus, there may be new avenues to seek justice for previously time-barred claims of abuse at New York juvenile detention centers. If you were sexually abused at a New York juvenile detention center at any time, reach out today.