Nearly 70 individuals have come forward claiming they were sexually abused as minors while residing in detention centers in Pennsylvania, exposing what their attorneys describe as deficiencies in the state’s juvenile justice system. This latest group of accusers has filed lawsuits in state or federal courts against 10 different juvenile facilities in Pennsylvania, including three state-operated institutions. The lawsuits detail disturbing accounts of repeated sexual assaults by staff members, threats of harm to prevent reporting, and allegations of ignored reports of abuse, with the common thread being a lack of protection for the children under the facilities’ care.
Jerome Block, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, asserts that the operators of these juvenile facilities prioritized profit over the safety of the children, allowing a culture of abuse to persist unchecked. One specific facility mentioned in the lawsuits is Merakey USA’s Northwestern Academy, where 22 of the accusers resided. Allegations include a man claiming he was raped by two staff members at the age of 13 and was threatened against reporting the abuse. Merakey has responded by stating they are unable to comment on the allegations until a thorough review is conducted.
Other facilities named in the lawsuits include the state-run Loysville Youth Development Center, South Mountain Secure Treatment Unit, and North Central Secure Treatment Unit, as well as facilities operated by various organizations such as Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and VisionQuest National Ltd. of Tucson, Arizona. These lawsuits highlight a pattern of alleged abuse and negligence across multiple institutions, prompting calls for accountability and reform within Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system.
Gemma Services, the successor organization of Presbyterian Children’s Village, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are among the defendants facing accusations of abusive behavior towards minors under their care. Both organizations have expressed a commitment to prioritizing the well-being of the youth they serve while refraining from commenting on pending litigation. The lawsuits, filed by the New York firm Levy Konigsberg, target incidents of abuse dating back to the late 1980s, citing Pennsylvania’s flawed approach of incarcerating children for minor offenses as a contributing factor to the systemic issues within the state’s juvenile justice system.
Efforts to address these problems have been underway, with a task force established in 2021 to examine Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system. The task force identified disparities in the treatment of juvenile offenders, particularly noting the disproportionate prosecution of black offenders as adults. A bill proposing reforms based on the task force’s recommendations is currently awaiting further action in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, highlighting ongoing efforts to address the systemic shortcomings in the state’s approach to juvenile justice.
