Current:Home > StocksNew Hampshire jury finds state liable for abuse at youth detention center and awards victim $38M -SecureWealth Vault
New Hampshire jury finds state liable for abuse at youth detention center and awards victim $38M
View
Date:2025-04-16 23:40:29
BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire jury awarded $38 million to the man who blew the lid off abuse allegations at the state’s youth detention center Friday, in a landmark case finding the state’s negligence allowed him to be beaten, raped and held in solitary confinement as a teen.
David Meehan went to police in 2017 and sued the state three years later. Since then, 11 former state workers have been arrested and more than 1,100 other former residents of the Youth Development Center in Manchester have filed lawsuits alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse spanning six decades.
Meehan’s case was the first to go to trial, and the outcome could affect the criminal cases, the remaining lawsuits, and a separate settlement fund the state created as an alternative to litigation.
Over the course of the four-week trial, the state argued it was not liable for the conduct of “rogue” employees and that Meehan waited too long to sue. The defense also tried to undermine his credibility and said his case relied on “conjecture and speculation with a lot of inuendo mixed in.”
“Conspiracy theories are not a substitute for actual evidence,” attorney Martha Gaythwaite said in her closing statement Thursday.
Meehan’s attorneys accused the state of encouraging a culture of abuse marked by pervasive brutality, corruption and a code of silence.
“They still don’t get it,” David Vicinanzo said in his closing statement. “They don’t understand the power they had, they don’t understand how they abused their power and they don’t care.”
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- As more Texans struggle with housing costs, homeownership becoming less attainable
- Wisconsin taxpayers to pay half the cost of redistricting consultants hired by Supreme Court
- Sen. Bob Menendez’s Egypt trip planning got ‘weird,’ Senate staffer recalls at bribery trial
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- 'Slytherin suspect': Snake discovered in Goodwill donation box in Virginia
- Lawmakers in a New York county pass transgender athlete ban after earlier ban is thrown out in court
- Lawsuit challenges Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display Ten Commandments
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- The Sopranos at 25: Looking back on TV's greatest hour
Ranking
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Texas fires baseball coach David Pierce after eight seasons without national title
- US Olympic track and field trials: Winners, losers and heartbreak through four days
- Lawsuit challenges new Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments
- Sam Taylor
- Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Selma Blair and More Star Sightings at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week
- MLB power rankings: Can Rangers rally a World Series defense with Max Scherzer back?
- Who are America’s Top Online shops? Here is a list of the top-ranking companies.
Recommendation
Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
Shannen Doherty Shares Update on Chemotherapy Treatment Amid Cancer Battle
Wolves attack and seriously injure woman who went jogging in French zoo
South Carolina runoff pits Trump candidate against GOP governor’s endorsement
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
She needed an abortion. In post-Roe America, it took 21 people and two states to help her.
Mindy Kaling Announces She Gave Birth to Baby No. 3 in February
CDK Global: Restoration underway after auto dealer software supplier hacked