SANDYPINES RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting For Survivors Sexually Abused at SandyPines Residential Treatment Center in FL

Levy Konigsberg is investigating the history of abuse at SandyPines Residential Treatment Center in Tequesta, Florida, where children were allegedly harmed.

SandyPines Residential Treatment Center is a behavioral health facility in Tequesta, Florida that houses children and teenagers with behavioral and mental health conditions. The facility is operated by Universal Health Services, one of the largest behavioral health providers in the United States. Reports and investigations have raised concerns about conditions at the facility, including alleged sexual abuse, assaults, inadequate supervision, understaffing, and failure to properly monitor residents. These allegations have drawn scrutiny from law enforcement, state inspectors, and federal investigators examining conditions at youth residential treatment facilities.

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

History of Sexual Abuse at SandyPines Residential Treatment Center in FL

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

• In January 2025, it was reported that police responded to hundreds of calls to SandyPines Residential Treatment Center in Tequesta, Florida, over a two-year period. According to sheriff’s office records, these calls allegedly included three reports of sexual assault, 47 reports of assault, and 11 reports of missing patients.

In November 2024, seven children allegedly escaped through an opening in the fence. In December 2024, a resident allegedly escaped the facility and attempted to break into a nearby home.

In January 2023, a riot occurred at the facility involving almost half of the youths. Inspectors determined the facility was understaffed and that employees were seen on video standing by during the emergency.

Former staff members have attributed these incidents to chronic understaffing and other safety concerns.

• 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, the parent company of SandyPines Residential Treatment Center. The report revealed systemic sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, unsafe conditions, inhumane confinement practices, and neglect throughout these facilities.

According to the investigation, SandyPines Residential Treatment Center was not in compliance with healthcare standards.

The facility allegedly failed to properly document the monitoring of children placed in isolation. 

It allegedly failed to properly communicate resident information between departments, which reportedly allowed a sexual relationship between two youths to continue.

Medication administration records were allegedly poorly organized and did not meet required standards. 

Inspectors also reportedly identified eight instances of mold in and around showers at the facility.

Multiple units were allegedly understaffed.

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

Florida Sexual Abuse Attorneys

The amount of time that a victim of childhood sexual abuse in Florida has to file a lawsuit depends on the facts and circumstances of the particular case. We recommend that you reach out to us if you have questions about the statute of limitations in your case.  For those who were sexually abused in privately-operated Florida juvenile residential facilities when they were under age 16, and were born after July 1, 1988, there should be no statute of limitations that applies. So, in most cases, this means that a person who experienced sexual assault when under age 16 is permitted to file a civil lawsuit at any time so long as they were born after July 1, 1988 (i.e. the person did not turn age 22 as of July 1, 2010).

Levy Konigsberg is actively investigating allegations of sexual abuse at Florida 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.