Juvenile Justice System Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Being Pursued In Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Other States

As an increasing number of states expand their statute of limitations laws to allow the filing of child sexual abuse lawsuits involving incidents that occurred long ago, there has been a rapid rise in lawsuits filed against state juvenile justice systems nationwide, each outlining similar allegations of horrific assaults and systemic abuse was ignored for decades.

The juvenile justice system lawsuits claim that children were subject to rape, exploitation and torture, while state employees looked on, participated, or ignored the children’s cries for help and mercy.

The litigation has emerged since new laws and measures were enacted in several states in recent years, where statute of limitations deadlines have been entirely removed, or “windows” have been opened for older survivors to now come forward and pursue civil claims against their abusers or entities that enabled the conduct.

The first waves of child sexual abuse lawsuits brought after the laws were passed primarily targeted large private institutions, like the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America, resulting in numerous archdioceses declaring bankruptcy in recent years under the weight of the growing litigation. The Boy Scouts also declared bankruptcy in 2020, and now plans to emerge from Chapter 11 protections after agreeing to a $2.4 billion child abuse settlement agreement last year.

Juvenile Justice Systems Now Face Child Abuse Claims

Although staggering numbers of lawsuits against the Catholic Church and other private organizations continue to be pursued, there has been an apparent rise in litigation involving incidents that occurred in juvenile detention centers, seeking damages from the state governments that recently passed laws allowing survivors to seek justice for sexual abuse that occurred decades ago.

One of the first states to pass such laws was New York, where the Child Victims Act was signed into law in February 2019, opening a two year window for claims previously barred by the statute of limitations to be filed. Between August 2019 and 2021, at least 10,000 child sexual abuse lawsuits were filed in New York state.

However, even though that window is now closed, the changes to the law have allowed a continuing stream of more recent filings, with reports indicating that more than 250 individuals have filed lawsuits over abuse at detention facilities run by the New York City Department of Correction since April. The lawsuits contain allegations against the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, Horizon juvenile centers, Riker’s Island and others.

In Maryland, after its own child victims act was passed in 2023, more than 100 juvenile detention child sex abuse lawsuits were brought by individuals who say they were sexually assaulted as wards of the state.

However, the fate of those claims rests on whether the state’s Supreme Court decides the new law is constitutional, following challenges filed by the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and other entities, which claim the retroactive removal of the statute of limitations violates due process protections. The Maryland Supreme Court is expected to consider the appeal this Fall.

Juvenile Center Abuse Lawsuits Filed in Other States

Not all states facing such allegations have passed statute of limitations changes, however, revealing that numerous incidents have occurred in recent years, and likely still occur in some juvenile detention facilities to this day.

According to recent media reports, the Tulsa County Commissioners and The Office of Juvenile Affairs currently faces claims brought on behalf of at least 30 youths held in the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice, alleging they have been physically abused since 2019. The complaints have led to the arrest of two detention officers, with one accused of raping a teenager, and another charged with trading vape pens for sexual acts, as well as showing teens inappropriate pictures.

Other children reported facing horrendous incidents of torture, such as a child ordered to remove their own stitches.

In Pennsylvania, more than 60 former wards of the state say they experienced everything from unnecessary strip searches to rape involving physical violence. Some of the survivors indicate that they were exploited by being granted certain privileges if they submitted willingly to sexual abuse, and others indicate they were severely punished for trying to report the incidents.

Responding to claims, the Pennsylvania state government created a task force to look into the juvenile justice system abuse allegations, reporting in 2021 that the system incarcerated a disproportionate level of first-time, low level and Black offenders. However, efforts to pass Pennsylvania statute of limitation revisions similar to those enacted in other states have been blocked by Republican lawmakers in the state legislature.

While child abuse statute of limitations laws have also been enacted in a number of states, including New Jersey, California and Louisiana, dozens of other states are still debating similar bills that would allow survivors to hold abusers and entities that enabled their conduct accountable.