Latest youth center lawsuit also targets other facilities

A New Hampshire man who spent six years in state custody as a child is suing multiple facilities alleging physical and sexual abuse.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday is the latest of more than 400 targeting the Sununu Youth Services Center, formerly called the Youth Development Center, in Manchester. But in this case, the defendants also include the Nashua Children’s Home, Mount Prospect Academy in Plymouth, and an Easter Seals facility called the Jolicoeur School in Manchester.

According to the lawsuit, the man was placed in state custody in 2009 at age 11 after being molested by a relative, skipping school and smoking marijuana. He claims he was physically and verbally abused at the Nashua Children’s Home, particularly after he came out as gay, and such treatment continued in his later placements.

The lawsuit accuses staff at Mount Prospect Academy of giving illegal drugs to children, beating the plaintiff and locking him in isolation for up to 10 days. At the Easter Seals facility, he was sexually assaulted by another resident, according to the lawsuit. And at the Youth Development Center, he alleges was sexually assaulted by both male and female staffers.

“We take all complaints seriously and will respond in accordance with the court rules,” said Michael Garrity, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, which represents the state. None of the other facilities responded immediately to emails requesting comment Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Legislature approved a $100 million fund to compensate those who were abused as children at the Youth Development Center, which has been the target of a criminal investigation since 2019. Ten of its former workers and an 11th who worked at a Concord detention facility were arrested last year, and nearly 450 former residents have sued the state based on allegations involving more than 150 staffers from 1963 to 2018.

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