‘Damaged, traumatized and broken by the system’: Former residents sue Pa. juvenile detention centers for institutionalized child abuse

From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Scores of children experienced institutionalized sexual abuse at various juvenile detention and residential treatment facilities across Pennsylvania, according to a slew of connected lawsuits filed Wednesday morning.

Each of the 67 plaintiffs, all of whom are now adults, are seeking damages for the trauma they say staff inflicted upon them over two decades.

“What the juvenile system is supposed to provide is rehabilitation, education and it’s supposed to result in children coming out of the system more equipped to live a productive life,” said Jerome Block, an attorney with Levy Konigsberg. “Instead, our clients were damaged, traumatized and broken by the system and left the system far worse than they were when they entered.”

The complaints implicate the Carson Valley Children’s Aid, Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center, Devereux, Northwestern Academy, Presbyterian Children’s Village, St. Gabriel’s Hall and VisionQuest for what Block described as “systemic, institutionalized sexual abuse.”

“One of the things that stands out for me in these cases is the severity of the sexual abuse,” Block said. “Many of our clients were raped. Many of our clients were forced to perform oral sex or other sexual acts — and we’re talking here about children. So the adults at the facility, the ones that are supposed to be keeping the children safe, are perpetrating severe sexual abuse against children.”

None of the operators of these centers immediately provided comment on Wednesday morning.

The New York-based law firm also took aim at three state-run facilities — Loysville Youth Development Center, North Central Secure Treatment Unit and South Mountain Secure Treatment Unit. Twenty of the cases originate at these state-operated institutions.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services did not immediately provide comment.

In May, Levy Konigsberg attorneys filed suit on behalf of 66 people who said they were sexually abused at many of the same juvenile centers mentioned in the most recent complaints. The firm also sued Delco Juvenile Detention Center that same month on behalf of three individuals, alleging staff sexually abused them.

There has been a cyclical nature to abuse allegations in connection with youth placement facilities in the commonwealth.

From the DCJDC and the Glen Mills Schools to Devereux and the Luzerne County judges scandal known as “Kids for Cash,” these centers have been a magnet for negative attention for more than a decade. Block called on Gov. Josh Shapiro and Attorney General Michelle Henry to investigate.

“We see a culture of secrecy that is more focused on protecting the staff members who are perpetrating the sexual abuse then protecting children,” Block said. “I think what we also see in these cases is just a broken juvenile justice system.”

He likened the institutionalized abuse to the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal and said that state officials should update the law to allow for older cases to be filed.

Currently, Pennsylvania requires litigants to be born after November 1989. Block is calling for a two-year revival window so that older cases have a chance in court.