Survivors across Pennsylvania are coming forward with accounts of sexual abuse by staff at juvenile detention centers, state youth-development centers, secure treatment units, and private residential placement facilities. The accounts span decades and facility types — state-operated, county-run, and private contractors paid to house children in the Commonwealth's care — and describe a recurring pattern: staff using authority over young people in custody to abuse them, supervisors who failed to intervene, and retaliation against children who tried to report.
Since 2024, hundreds of survivors have joined civil lawsuits against facility operators, county governments, and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. A Delaware County grand jury has documented systemic failures at a county-run detention center, several facilities have closed or lost their state licenses, and the Commonwealth has reached settlements with some former residents. The litigation continues to grow as additional survivors come forward, and lawyers are reviewing new claims from former residents of facilities across the state.
If you were sexually abused as a child while placed in a Pennsylvania juvenile facility, the law provides a path to accountability — and to recognition of what was taken from you.
