NORTH CENTRAL SECURE TREATMENT UNIT SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors Abused at North Central Secure Treatment Unit

Reports have emerged suggesting that children incarcerated at the North Central Secure Treatment Unit were subjected to staff-on-inmate sexual abuse. 

Now, Levy Konigsberg is helping former youth inmates detained there step forward in the fight for justice. In October 2024, we filed civil lawsuits on behalf of over 60 survivors who were sexually abused while detained at Pennsylvania juvenile facilities, including North Central Secure Treatment Unit.  More than 200 individuals have filed cases involving abuse at Pennsylvania juvenile facilities since May of 2024. If you have a potential case, we want to help.

Levy Konigsberg: Leading the Fight for North Central Secure Treatment Unit Survivors

In October 2024, Levy Konigsberg attorneys filed civil lawsuits on behalf of survivors who were sexually abused while detained at Pennsylvania juvenile facilities, including North Central Secure Treatment Unit.

As detailed in our complaints, the plaintiffs were sexually abused by guards, counselors and other staff members who were supposed to be watching out for them.  Further, as alleged in the complaints, this abuse was only possible because the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania tolerated it, failing the children in the state’s care.  The lawsuits aim to hold the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which operates the facility, accountable for its failed oversight and for supervisors’ chronic failures to reign in a systemic problem of sexual abuse, violence, and exploitation among staff.

Our firm currently represents hundreds of survivors who were sexually abused at various Pennsylvania juvenile detention facilities and continues to speak with others who are looking for information about their right to step forward. We’re readily available to discuss whether you have grounds to pursue a claim as well.

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.