NEW
YORK, April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Levy
Konigsberg has filed lawsuits on behalf of over 150 survivors of
sexual abuse against the City of New
York, alleging that the New York City Administration for
Children's Services and New York City Department of Corrections
failed to protect children from rampant sexual abuse perpetrated by
adult employees at Horizon Juvenile Center, Riker's Island, and
Spofford Juvenile Detention Center (also known as Bridges Juvenile
Detention Center). The lawsuits, brought on behalf of over 150 men
and women who were abused as children at these detention
facilities, is the latest in a string of juvenile detention abuse
lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg.
Among these brave survivors are twelve individuals who were
sexually abused by Natalie Medford,
a former staff member at Horizon Juvenile Center, whose previously
known acts of sexual abuse prompted State and federal
investigations in 2018.
Despite widespread reports, investigations, and campaigns to
close or reform these juvenile detention facilities, the
City of New York has allowed a
culture of sexual abuse and brutality to continue unabated. The
abuse endured by these plaintiffs stretches across decades. Sexual
abuse of children at New York
City's juvenile detention facilities likely continues to
this day.
The suits filed by Levy Konigsberg were brought under the
recently amended Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection
Law. Enacted in 2000, the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence
Protection Law, provides legal pathways for victims of this type of
sexual abuse to pursue damages from their abusers and from the
institutions that enabled the abuse. In 2022, The New York City
Council passed a groundbreaking law to create a two year look back
window for survivors to file civil suits against their perpetrators
and the institutions that failed to protect them, even if it has
been years or decades since the sexual abuse took place. This
lookback window is open until March 1,
2025, and allows survivors a meaningful opportunity to seek
justice.
In announcing today's lawsuits filed on behalf of 150 men and
women, Levy Konigsberg Partner Jerome Block stated:
"New York City's juvenile
justice system is broken. The City's juvenile detention center
staff severely and systematically sexually abused our clients when
they were children. The perpetrators of these heinous sex crimes
were correctional officers, counselors, nurses, other staff members
and even supervisors- the very people entrusted with our clients'
safety. Sexual abuse of this magnitude and severity simply cannot
occur in the absence of negligence and, even worse, a culture of
secrecy. Fortunately, the New York City Council has provided this
2-year window to address this type of sexual violence, recognizing
that it often takes many years for survivors to come forward. Our
clients are courageous people who are grateful that the City
Council has allowed them to bring these cases forward after so many
years to obtain some measure of justice, which will hopefully
prevent future generations from being sexually preyed upon by
similar acts of gender-motivated violence."
Emily Miles, executive director
of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, stated: "The
trauma of sexual abuse, especially abuse that occurs at a young
age, takes years to process before many are able to begin the
process of reporting the harm done to them. For those who face the
compounded trauma of abuse while incarcerated, the process can take
even longer. Look back windows, like those offered through
the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law and Child
Victim's Act, are frequently the only available pathway to justice
for these survivors and are critical in ensuring the institutions
who willfully allowed this violence to occur are held
responsible."
The New York Times has
covered Levy Konigsberg's recent lawsuits on behalf of over 150
survivors of sexual abuse at juvenile detention centers in the
Bronx. Interested parties can read
the article here.
Levy Konigsberg has filed hundreds of lawsuits on behalf of
survivors of sexual abuse nationwide and is at the forefront of
litigation in New York, Maryland, New
Jersey, Illinois, and other
states.
Levy Konigsberg represents hundreds of survivors of child sexual
abuse at New York City's juvenile
detention facilities and plans to continue fighting tirelessly on
their behalf.
For additional information about New York juvenile detention center sex abuse
lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg, media members and
journalists are encouraged to reach out to Attorney Jerome
Block by using the law firm's contact
form: https://www.levylaw.com/contact-us/
Media Contact: Attorney Jerome
Block; Jblock@levylaw.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/levy-konigsberg-attorneys-jerome-block-and-madeleine-skaller-have-filed-lawsuits-on-behalf-of-over-150-men-and-women-who-were-sexually-abused-by-adult-staff-members-when-they-were-confined-as-children-at-juvenile-detention-facilit-302132011.html
SOURCE Levy Konigsberg LLP