Levy Konigsberg and Co-Counsel File Lawsuit on Behalf of 16 Men and Women Who Were Sexually Abused as Children at Pennsylvania's Juvenile Detention Facilities
Levy Konigsberg Attorneys Jerome Block and Clark Binkley, and co-counsel, have filed a lawsuit on behalf of 16 men and women who suffered sexual abuse when they were confined as children at three of Pennsylvania's state-run juvenile detention facilities.
NEW YORK, May 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Levy Konigsberg and co-counsel have filed a lawsuit against the the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services ("DHS"), alleging that state agency failed to protect children from horrific sexual abuse at three juvenile detention facilities. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of 16 men and women who were abused as children at Pennsylvania's Loysville Youth Development Center, North Central Secure Treatment Unit, and South Mountain Secure Treatment Unit, is the latest in a string of juvenile detention abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg across the country.
As detailed in the lawsuit, Pennsylvania's juvenile detention system has for decades subjected children "to a culture of exploitation, violence, and rampant sexual abuse." Widespread reports and investigations into the traumatizing environment and violently abusive staff went ignored by DHS, allowing generations numbers of children to suffer sexual abuse at the hands of guards, counselors, and other staff members who were supposed to be looking out for them.
The men and women who filed claims today include those who suffered sexual as far back as 2000 and as recently as 2023. Despite the years and decades separating their experiences, the 16 men and women whose claims were filed today experienced disturbingly similar patterns of abuse across the three facilities, evidencing a systemic failure by DHS to protect the children in its care.
Unfortunately, current law in Pennsylvania bars individuals who were born prior to November 26, 1989 from bringing claims for childhood sexual abuse. As a result, untold numbers of survivors who were abused in earlier decades continue to suffer in silence.
In announcing today's lawsuit filed on behalf of 16 men and women, Levy Konigsberg Partner Jerome Block stated:
"These men and women have courageously stepped forward to seek justice and accountability for the horrific sexual abuse they suffered at juvenile detention center operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It can take many decades for survivors of child sex abuse to be ready to come forward to assert their legal rights. These cases once again show why it is so important for Pennsylvania lawmakers to pass legislation that will allow survivors of child sexual abuse to seek justice, regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred. There are many more survivors, including men and women sexually abused at these same facilities in earlier decades, who are unable to file their cases of child sexual abuse under current Pennsylvania law."
Levy Konigsberg has filed hundreds of lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse nationwide, and is at the forefront of litigation regarding abuse juvenile detention facilities, having filed some of the first lawsuits about the widespread sexual abuse at such facilities in states like Maryland, New Jersey, and Illinois. National news outlets, including The Associated Press and The New York Times have covered Levy Konigsberg's recent lawsuits on behalf of hundreds of men and women who had been sexually abused as children at these facilities. Interested parties can read the articles here, here, and here.
Levy Konigsberg represents hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse at Pennsylvania's juvenile detention and residential treatment facilities and plans to continue fighting tirelessly on their behalf.
For additional information about childhood sexual abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg, media members and journalists are encouraged to reach out to Attorney Jerome Block by using the law firm's contact form: https://www.levylaw.com/contact-us/
SOURCE Levy Konigsberg
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