MID-ATLANTIC YOUTH SERVICES SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS 

Fighting for Survivors Sexually Abused involving Mid-Atlantic Youth Services in Pennsylvania

Levy Konigsberg is investigating alleged youth abuse, staff misconduct, and restraint incidents at Mid-Atlantic Youth Services juvenile facilities in Pennsylvania, including Pittston Township.

Mid-Atlantic Youth Services operated juvenile detention and residential treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, including a center in Pittston Township. The company operated as a private, for-profit provider within the state’s juvenile placement system. The facility, associated with PA Child Care, has faced legal complaints and public scrutiny involving allegations that youths placed there were harmed by staff members.

Levy Konigsberg represents survivors of institutional abuse and investigates allegations involving juvenile detention centers and youth residential facilities in Pennsylvania.

If you or a loved one was harmed, contact us today.

History of Sexual Abuse involving Mid-Atlantic Youth Services in Pennsylvania

Examples of alleged abuse at the facility, and of conditions likely to lead to abuse, include the following:

• In June 2024, a lawsuit filed in Lancaster County Court alleged that staff members at a Pittston Township juvenile center run by Mid-Atlantic Youth Services abused a youth at the Pittston Township facility. The victim was allegedly physically restrained and assaulted multiple times in 2017 and 2018, when he was between 13 and 14 years old, including alleged incidents in which staff members hit the youth in the genitals.

The facility allegedly failed to properly monitor staff or investigate reports of misconduct. The lawsuit also alleged that the company fostered a culture that made it difficult for minors to report abuse or resist their alleged abusers. It further alleged that the Lancaster County Children and Youth Agency was negligent in failing to ensure the minor was placed in a safe environment.

• In February 2019, a 15-year-old boy at Mid-Atlantic Youth Services in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, reported that staff members allegedly mistreated him.

Surveillance video allegedly showed multiple staff members surrounding the teen and forcing him to the ground while his hands were held behind his back in a dangerous restraint.

According to the report, investigators from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services allegedly did not review the surveillance video, interview staff, examine internal reports, or formally interview the youth on the day the complaint was raised. 

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.