KIDSPEACE SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS 

Fighting for Survivors Sexually Abused at KidsPeace in Pennsylvania

Survivors allegedly suffered decades of sexual abuse and neglect at KidsPeace facilities in Pennsylvania. Levy Konigsberg represents victims in these lawsuits. 

KidsPeace operates several residential treatment centers and psychiatric facilities in North Whitehall Township, Bethlehem, Allentown, and Saylorsburg. These Pennsylvania locations were designed to provide behavioral and mental health services to children and adolescents; however, legal filings describe a pattern of alleged sexual violence, physical assault, and systemic failure. Victims have come forward with reports of staff members allegedly engaging in rape, grooming, and the use of physical restraints to facilitate abuse. Levy Konigsberg is currently investigating these claims to hold the facility accountable for the harm caused to vulnerable youths in its care.

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

History of Sexual Abuse at KidsPeace in Pennsylvania

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

• In February 2026, Levy Konigsberg filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a victim who was allegedly abused at KidsPeace. In 2010, a staff member allegedly groped the victim approximately four to five times a week and forced her to perform oral sex on a weekly basis. Despite reporting the behavior to a director and a nurse, no action was taken.

In December 2025, Levy Konigsberg filed another lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse at KidsPeace. The victim alleged that a technician abused him approximately three times a week between 2010 and 2015. The technician allegedly masturbated the victim, forced the victim to masturbate him, and forced him perform oral sex at least twice. The staff member also allegedly lied about needing to restrain the victim as a reason to have him sedated with a Thorazine shot.

In October 2025, Levy Konigsberg filed a federal lawsuit representing three different victims who alleged abuse at KidsPeace. One victim alleged that between 2005 and 2006, a female staff member punished him by squeezing his genitals and forcing objects into his anus. Another victim alleged that in early 2009, the perpetrator fondled her genitals while she slept and groped her in the shower, a hallway, and a kitchenette. The third victim in that filing alleged that in 2011, a security guard grabbed him, kissed his neck, and fondled his genitals. 

Multiple plaintiffs alleged that staff members ignored their reports of abuse and took no action.

These claims bring the total number of pending federal lawsuits against the facility to at least five, with all victims alleging they were abused as children between 2005 and 2015.

• In October 2022, reports revealed that KidsPeace had faced numerous allegations and incidents of abuse over the years. 

In 2005, a lawsuit was filed against Counselor Dean Sine, who allegedly imprisoned and raped a 15-year-old patient.  

In a 1993 incident, Sine was charged with manslaughter after he allegedly suffocated a 12-year-old patient by sitting on him for 10 minutes. KidsPeace later settled with the victim’s family for $1 million. 

• In September 2019, former employee Kharee Greene was charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old female youth. He allegedly kissed and groped her at the North Whitehall Township facility. In March 2021, Greene pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the victim.

• In February 2017, it was reported that a youth care worker at KidsPeace in Bethlehem was placed on administrative leave after allegedly kissing a teenage boy. 

In 2016, a staff member at the same facility was accused of allegedly kissing a 16-year-old girl. 

• In June 2013, KidsPeace counselor Jonathan Nivar was arrested on charges, including sexual assault, against two residents, ages 14 and 18, at the North Whitehall Township facility. 

In June 2008, a teenager who had allegedly been raped by a counselor at a Pennsylvania KidsPeace clinic in 2005 filed a lawsuit against KidsPeace.

In May 2008, two teenage girls at a KidsPeace facility in Saylorsburg allegedly overdosed on methadone pills they took from a counselor.

In February 2002, a 16-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide six weeks after being admitted to KidsPeace’s North Whitehall Township facility.

In July 2001, a 17-year-old youth was convicted of allegedly sexually assaulting an 18-year-old resident at the North Whitehall Township facility.

In July 1999, a 12-year-old boy sued KidsPeace, alleging he was raped by a 13-year-old youth in KidsPeace’s residential facility in Allentown.

In December 1997, another former employee was charged with allegedly similar offenses involving the same boy.

In September 1997, a former employee pleaded guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old youth.

• In 1998, a patient died after being allegedly restrained by three counselors at KidsPeace North Whitehall Township treatment facility. An autopsy later revealed evidence that he had been anally raped. In 2005, KidsPeace settled with the victim’s mother, agreeing to pay over $1.4 million.

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.