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; [email protected]
SOURCE Levy Konigsberg LLP
