Sexual abuse alleged at NJ juvenile detention centers
Over 350 lawsuits filed alleging abuse at state-run facilities. More than 350 lawsuits have now been filed by men and women who allege they ...
Summary
More than 350 lawsuits have been filed by former juvenile detainees alleging they were sexually abused as children while in custody at New Jersey's state-run juvenile detention facilities. The lawsuits were announced by attorneys on Wednesday, representing both men and women who claim abuse occurred during their time in these state facilities. The large number of cases suggests a potentially widespread pattern of abuse within New Jersey's juvenile justice system, though the article does not specify particular facility names or any settlement details at this time.
Sexual abuse alleged at NJ juvenile detention centers
Clip: 8/1/2025 | 5m 2sVideo has Closed Captions | CC
Over 350 lawsuits filed alleging abuse at state-run facilities
08/01/2025
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Sexual abuse alleged at NJ juvenile detention centers
Clip: 8/1/2025 | 5m 2sVideo has Closed Captions | CC
Over 350 lawsuits filed alleging abuse at state-run facilities
More than 350 lawsuits have now been filed by men and women who allege they were sexually abused as children while in custody at New Jersey’s state-run juvenile facilities, their attorneys announced Wednesday.
08/01/2025
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Sexual abuse alleged at NJ juvenile detention centers
Clip: 8/1/2025 | 5m 2sVideo has Closed Captions | CC
More than 350 lawsuits have now been filed by men and women who allege they were sexually abused as children while in custody at New Jersey’s state-run juvenile facilities, their attorneys announced Wednesday.
08/01/2025
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This week, hundreds of people have come forward to share harrowing stories of sexual abuse that they say they suffered at the hands of the very people charged for their care.
These allegations come from individuals who were once minors, held a juvenile detention centers owned and operated by the state of New Jersey.
They filed lawsuits against the state, charging that it was everyone from case managers to guards who abused them.
Raven Santana I spoke to several of the plaintiffs, some of whom are opening up decades after their alleged abuse.
We're here today to announce that more than 350 cases have been filed by men and women who are sexually abused as children in juvenile facilities in New Jersey.
According to attorneys, there are now 350 men and women who have filed lawsuits claiming they were sexually abused as children at New Jersey's juvenile facilities.
Among them is Hasan's Kirby, who bravely spoke out during a press conference yesterday.
It started in Utah about 30 years ago, but I can remember it like it was yesterday when I was calling in to one of the supervisors office.
I used to clean and clean and mop and change the garbage cans.
And then for him to look at my body, he would tell me stuff like, Oh, you stole the cigarets.
So you have to strip.
Many of our clients were raped as children in government operated New Jersey Juvenile facilities.
Many of our clients were forced to perform oral sex and other sexual acts.
Our clients were threatened, bribed, coerced, manipulated.
No child should have to go through that.
Last month, the New Jersey Supreme Court approved a multi-county litigation consolidating all of these claims in Middlesex County, home to the New Jersey training School at James Burg, a facility with a long history of federal scrutiny.
According to the legal team, many survivors reported similar patterns of grooming, coercion and outright sexual assault, all by adult staff employed by the state of New Jersey.
Studies were done specifically about the New Jersey training school, which used to be called in New Jersey Training School for Boys, located in Monroe Township in New Jersey.
This facility is also called James Burge.
This facility was found to have very high incidence of child sexual abuse when studied by the Department of Justice.
So this is something that has been out there.
And I think what we're seeing now is just a growing awareness on behalf of sexual abuse survivors who suffered sexual abuse at juvenile detention centers.
Survivors say their speaking out isn't just about accountability.
It's about finally exposing a systematic failure that for decades allowed abuse to persist in silence.
I was just a kid when I was sent to James Byrd instead of being protected.
I was targeted from 22 to 23 while I was housed in the behavior modification unit.
I was abused by a correctional officer named Rodriguez.
At first he pretended to be con.
He offered me food and extra privileges, and I was grateful.
I thought he was looking out for me.
But that was a lie.
One day, Rodriguez came to my cell phone, locked the door behind him, and told me it was time I paid him back.
I didn't understand what he meant until he slapped me, grabbed me, but grabbed me by the throat and beat me until I submitted for others.
The trauma was sudden and brutal.
And obviously Batiste was a very tall and heavyset man.
He wound up hitting me over the head and I tumbled over.
And I'm thinking maybe he just wanted to do physical violence to me.
But it was a lot worse than that.
Too graphic to even describe.
It's a shock to me that this place is even still open in places like it is still open.
The case has spanned multiple facilities, not just Keansburg.
Dorothy Laporte, who was 16 at the time, says she was assaulted by a supervisor at Morris Juvenile Center and there was a person who was in charge.
They were like an authority.
Figure and they they sexually abused.
Me.
They took advantage of me.
Advocates say this wave of litigation is just the beginning and they're urging other survivors to come forward.
As of this report, Andrew Spotlight News has reached out to New Jersey Training School at James Burge for comment but has yet to hear back from them.
The AG's office released a common in part saying given the ongoing litigation, we cannot comment on today's press conference.
But our office has made it clear that people who use their positions of power to abuse those under their care will not and cannot be tolerated in the state.
But for advocates, this is not just a legal battle.
It's a moral one about what happens when children are placed in custody of the state, are abused instead of protected, and how long it takes for truth to surface.
For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.
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