NORTH CAROLINA YOUTH RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITY SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors of Sexual Abuse in North Carolina Youth Residential Treatment Facilities

Youth residential treatment facilities in North Carolina are intended to provide a safe space for vulnerable children and teenagers who need care, support, and rehabilitation. However, numerous reports have shown serious problems in some of these facilities, including cases of sexual abuse, neglect, and mistreatment.  

Rather than serving as protective and therapeutic environments, some facilities have fallen short in safeguarding the young people entrusted to their care, leaving them vulnerable to harm from staff or other residents. 

For survivors, the impact of such abuse can result in profound and enduring emotional, psychological, and physical pain. Levy Konigsberg is here to provide the support and guidance you need to navigate this complex legal process.

History of Sexual Abuse in North Carolina Youth Residential Treatment Centers

In June 2024, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee released a sweeping report detailing abuse at residential treatment facilities operated by major healthcare companies, including Universal Health Services, which operates multiple such facilities in North Carolina. The report revealed systemic sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, unsafe conditions, inhumane confinement practices, and neglect throughout these facilities.

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

Brynn Marr Hospital

• In May 2024, former Brynn Marr employees alleged they were instructed to exaggerate patient diagnoses to make patients appear sicker than they truly were to justify higher billing rates to insurers. 

A former staff member who examined patient records from 2017 to 2019 alleged that management directed nurses not to document instances where patients denied having suicidal thoughts, homicidal thoughts, or hallucinations, to prevent insurance payments from being discontinued.

• In May 2024, a parent, alleged that her son was sexually harassed and physically assaulted by other patients during his time at the facility. Medical records show that the child left with an untreated concussion.  

More than a dozen former employees of the facility alleged understaffing, frequent disorder, safety issues, and overreliance on medication for treatment.

In addition, over 200 pages of records from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) revealed numerous violent incidents between patients, casting serious doubt on the hospital’s ability to provide a safe and secure environment.

• In May 2023, federal regulators revealed they were considering cutting Medicare funding for Brynn Marr Hospital after inspections were launched in response to allegations of mistreatment and sexual assault involving an 11-year-old patient.  

In June 2022, the parents of the 11-year-old patient lodged a complaint with the state health department, alleging that their daughter was subjected to vulgar name-calling by other patients and was sexually assaulted by a teenage patient.

During their visit, state regulators found that hospital staff had failed to properly supervise patients to ensure a safe and therapeutic environment and did not provide daily visits from a psychiatrist.

• In December 2022, local police records showed that authorities had received 117 calls over the past three and a half years reporting sexual assault or rape at Brynn Marr.  

Strategic Behavioral Health

• In December 2021, a report revealed that Strategic Behavioral Health was shutting down following repeated violations, including incidents of handcuffing and drugging a teenage patient.  

• In February 2018, the state fined the facility $20,000 after finding that the facility put its patients’ health and safety at risk.  

The DHHS stated that the hospital’s lack of secure doors and proper supervision played a role in the incident where patients escaped and staff members were assaulted.  

A North Carolina mother claimed that her teenage daughter was placed in a “protective hold” at the facility 38 times over a five-month span, causing unnecessary trauma.

• In November 2021, a report detailed the experience of Elizabeth, a teenager who was admitted after struggling with suicidal thoughts. 

Upon her arrival, she was allegedly strip searched. Staff allegedly did not regularly check on her and was told to remain in her room.  

Elizabeth was allegedly forcibly taken into a bathroom and sexually assaulted by an older boy.

Over time, Elizabeth said the environment at the facility heightened her anxiety. She recalled seeing staff threaten other girls with unnecessary and excessive physical restraint and sedation

Holly Hill Hospital

• In July 2024, revelations from two former high-ranking employees detail serious concerns about understaffing, inexperienced employees, underreported escapes, and overall patient safety at Holly Hill Hospital.

One of the former employees highlighted major problems with patient records, describing them as incomplete and poorly maintained. 

The second employee criticized Universal Health Services for prioritizing profits over safety.  

He also revealed alarming practices involving medication, claiming it was sometimes used as a form of intimidation.

• In August 2024, an investigation also uncovered allegations that include falsifying records, inadequate treatment, over-medication, physical assaults, and sexual abuse.  

Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services

• In 2008, two 16-year-old female patients at Old Vineyard Behavioral Health reportedly told staff, including a therapist, that their roommate had sexually abused them while they were sedated. However, the therapist failed to file a required incident report or notify administration, risk management, or the Department of Social Services.

In 2010, a 14-year-old boy at Old Vineyard Youth Services in North Carolina accused his 17-year-old roommate of forcing him to perform oral sex and attempting to rape him while staff members were distracted by a disturbance in the unit, according to a state report. Investigators reviewed video footage that confirmed the boys had engaged in sexual acts. 

Additional issues were uncovered during the investigation, including medication errors and an allegation that a staff member had engaged in oral sex with a patient, according to reports.

Anderson Health Services

• In May 2018, a worker at a Union County psychiatric center allegedly came across a handwritten letter from a 15-year-old patient where the teen wrote that a newly hired therapist had asked him why he didn’t like being touched. 

State documents revealed previously undisclosed details about alleged abuse, improper treatment, and failures at Anderson Health Services. 

In June 2018, officials shut down most of the facility’s operations after determining it posed a threat to the health and safety of its patients.

• In 2018, an investigation found that some employees at Anderson Health lacked proper training. 

The state investigation also reported that staff used zip ties to restrain a 14-year-old girl who was trying to run away. She remained restrained for over an hour, and no staff members stepped in to release her.  

Staff allegedly gave a patient the wrong antipsychotic medication along with other drugs, making him sick. 

In another instance, nursing staff left 29 pills for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on top of a refrigerator. The pills went missing and were never recovered.

In another incident, the state found that Anderson Health failed to investigate or properly report allegations of abuse involving a 16-year-old boy who alleged a staff member had put him in a chokehold. 

Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health Center

• In July 2020, state regulators investigated and substantiated multiple allegations of sexual abuse of patients by staff at Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health Center.

In May 2020, a female mental health technician allegedly kissed a youth resident. She allegedly groomed the youth, and they communicated secretly through the use of a notebook the victim kept hidden.

Jackson Springs Treatment Center

• December 2025, it was reported that a woman filed a lawsuit alleging that she was sexually abused as a minor at Jackson Springs Treatment Center in 2018 by a male staff member, who was a convicted felon prior to being hired by Jackson Springs.

The lawsuit alleged the staff member supervised female units alone, tried to watch her shower, and allegedly offered an e-cigarette, a cell phone, and unidentified pills for her to lift her shirt or bra.

The lawsuit alleged he entered her room late at night more than once and engaged in sexual acts. 

• In August 2025, the facility was cited for allegedly failing to properly report allegations that staff verbally and physically abused a patient. 

• In 2022, Disability Rights attorneys alleged that Jackson Springs staff restrained children by holding them with their faces to a wall and pulled their arms too far back even, including one instance allegedly involving a child with a cast on his arm. Attorneys further alleged that some children lacked working, sanitary bathrooms and the facility needed repairs, with broken sinks, missing shower curtains or other privacy protections, and visible mold and strong mold odors in the bathrooms.

• In November 2021, reports surfaced about an employee at Jackson Springs Treatment Center, who previously served time for second-degree murder, repeatedly punching a boy in the face. 

The assault left the child with a broken eye socket. Four days later, he was taken to the hospital.

Trails Carolina

• In May 2025, a former camper who attended Trails Carolina, a now-shuttered Western North Carolina wilderness therapy camp, filed a federal lawsuit alleging one of the camp’s adult male field instructors sexually abused the former camper in 2015.  The camper was 12 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.  The former camper reportedly tried to escape the camp soon after arriving there.  In response, the camp required a field instructor to constantly supervise the camper, which included “burrito” wrapping the child in a tarp and sleeping against the camper’s body.  The field instructor also reportedly accompanied the camper into the woods to relieve themselves and sexually abused the child on at least six occasions.

• In October 2024, parents of a former Trails Carolina camper filed a class action suit in U.S. District Court in North Carolina alleging the camp misrepresented its services and caused them emotional distress.  A separate suit filed the same day by a former camper alleged the camp’s staff abused him in 2021. 

• In February 2024, a camper died via asphyxia due to smothering during his first night at Trails Carolina.  Reports later disclosed that he died after camp staff directed him to sleep in a fully enclosed bivy sack, a piece of sleeping equipment that usually includes waterproof material.  The death was ruled a homicide. Following the boy’s death and an investigation into the camp, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services started the process of revoking Trails Carolina’s license.

• In 2023, Trails Carolina settled lawsuits brought by two former campers who said the camp should have taken steps to prevent them from being sexually assaulted by other campers.

• In May 2021, it was reported that Trails Carolina was cited for fifty deficiencies between 2010 and 2019.  Among the violations were ten citations for improper medication handling and administration, four citations for violating regulations surrounding seclusion, physical restraint and isolation, and three citations for failing to protect participants from harm, abuse, neglect or exploitation.  Other reports included abusive tactics, manipulation and shaming.  Trails Carolina reportedly forced campers into weeks in the wilderness without access to showers or other basic hygiene, what campers described as emotional and psychological trauma and little time with a trained therapist.  

• In 2014, a camper at Trails Carolina was found dead in a stream after being missing for days.

Investigating Sexual Abuse at North Carolina Youth Residential Treatment Facilities

Levy Konigsberg is actively investigating abuse allegations at the North Carolina youth residential treatment facilities, including:

• Brynn Marr Hospital
• Strategic Behavioral Health
• Holly Hill Hospital
• Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services
• Anderson Health Services
• Carolina Dunes Behavioral Treatment Center
• Jackson Springs Treatment Center
• Trails Carolina
• Alexander Youth Network

If you or someone you know experienced abuse at these or similar institutions, contact our experienced attorneys today.

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

North Carolina Sexual Abuse Attorneys

The statute of limitations is a law that limits the amount of time you have to start a legal case after something wrong or illegal has happened. Under current North Carolina Law, survivors of childhood sexual abuse who were born after December 1, 1998 typically have until age 28 to file civil lawsuits.

Levy Konigsberg is actively investigating allegations of sexual abuse at North Carolina youth residential treatment facilities.

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.