New Hampshire
First of nearly 1,200 lawsuits against New Hampshire youth detention center set for trial
It started with three words: “They raped me.”
David Meehan’s disclosure to his wife seven years ago set into motion an unprecedented criminal investigation into New Hampshire’s state-run youth detention center, which was built in the 1850s as a “house of reformation.” It is now called the Sununu Youth Services Center, after former Gov. John H. Sununu, the father of the current governor.
Eleven former state workers face criminal charges, and dozens more are accused in the nearly 1,200 lawsuits former residents have filed against the state alleging abuse spanning six decades. The first lawsuit, filed by Meehan four years ago, goes to trial this week.
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“It’s heartwarming in a way to know that I helped these other people find the strength to be able to speak the truth about their experience,” Meehan told The Associated Press in 2021. “But at the same time, it hurts in a way that I can’t explain, knowing that so many other people were exposed to the same types of things that I was.”
Meehan originally was the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit that a judge later threw out. Now, his individual suit is the first to go to trial, with a batch of others expected later this year. Jury selection in Rockingham County Superior Court is expected to be completed Tuesday morning, followed by opening arguments.
The trial is expected to last weeks and will be the most public display yet of an unusual dynamic in which the state attorney general’s office has been simultaneously prosecuting perpetrators and defending the state against allegations raised in the civil cases. While one team of state lawyers tries to undermine Meehan’s credibility, a separate team will rely on his account to prosecute former workers during the upcoming criminal trials.
David Meehan, lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit accusing the State of New Hampshire of covering up decades of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at its youth detention center, is seen outside his lawyer’s office in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
“This case and the criminal cases are closely interrelated,” Judge Andrew Schulman wrote last month. “The evidence in this case comes in part from the criminal investigation. In determining what course to choose in either venue, the Attorney General cannot possibly separate the facts into two piles, one civil and one criminal.”
Meehan was 14 when he was sent to what was then called the Youth Development Center in Manchester in 1995. Over the next three years, he alleges he was routinely beaten, raped hundreds of times and held for months in solitary confinement. According to his lawsuit, one worker who subjected him to nearly daily abuse initially gained his trust by giving him snacks and arranging for him to play basketball with local high schoolers. He accuses other workers of standing guard or holding him down during assaults, and says when he told a supervisor how he got a black eye and split lip, the man cut him off and said, “Look little fella, that just doesn’t happen.”
The lawsuit seeks at least $1.9 million for past and future lost income, plus compensation for pain and suffering, permanent impairment and loss of quality of life. It accuses the state of breaching its duty to act in Meehan’s best interest and of enabling the abuse by being negligent in hiring, training and supervising employees.
The state denies those allegations and maintains it is not liable for the intentional criminal conduct of “rogue” employees. The state also disputes the nature, extent and severity of Meehan’s injuries, argues that he contributed to them and that some of the alleged physical abuse in question was “excused as necessary to maintain order and discipline.”
The state also argues that Meehan waited too long to come forward. New Hampshire’s statute of limitations for such lawsuits is three years from the date of injury, but there are exceptions in cases when victims did not know of the harm or its link to the wrongful party.
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On the criminal side, the statute of limitations for sexual assault involving children runs until the victim turns 40. Ten men have been charged with either sexually assaulting or acting as accomplices to the assault of more than a dozen teenagers at the Manchester detention center from 1994 to 2007, while an 11th man faces charges related to a pretrial facility in Concord. The first criminal trial had been scheduled to start this month, but a judge last week delayed it until August.
Schulman, the judge overseeing Meehan’s trial, has said those charges do not make anything in Meehan’s case more or less probable. He’s also warned Meehan’s attorneys to stick to the facts.
“This is a lawsuit, not a Manichean battle between light and darkness,” he wrote last month. “Improper appeals to passion, which ring like a bell that cannot be unrung, are the stuff that mistrials are made of.”
The federal government has activated the New Hampshire National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing in connection with the war with Iran.
“I’ve had a briefing myself, a classified briefing, but it’s really important on the messaging on this that we really coordinate with the Pentagon,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters during a press briefing following Wednesday’s Executive Council meeting.
Ayotte said she was unable to share additional details about the nature of the New Hampshire National Guard’s activity related to the conflict, including how many guard members have been activated or what role they are playing.
“We’re going to respect what messaging comes out of the Pentagon just to make sure that our men and women in uniform are fully protected and that we aren’t providing any information that could be used in a way that would be harmful to them,” Ayotte said.
In a statement Thursday, Ayotte said the unit had been deployed in late February to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the operation.
Earlier this week, Pentagon officials confirmed that members of the Vermont National Guard were involved in attacks against Iran over the weekend, though our news partners at Vermont Public were not able to confirm additional details on the nature of the operation.
During the briefing with local reporters, Ayotte also stressed her support for servicemembers and those close to them.
“I have such respect for our men and women in uniform,” Ayotte said. “As you know, I come from a military family, and they have our full support, and we appreciate them and their families, and obviously anyone who is serving right now, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost someone that they love.”
By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – While Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she opposes increasing highway toll rates across the state, the Senate voted Thursday to increase rates for out-of-state license plate holders.
It now goes to the House for consideration.
This would be a $1 increase for those who have out of state plates going through the tolls at Hooksett, Hampton and Bedford for out-of-state plates, a 75 cent hike for those taking Hampton’s Exit 2 and on the Spaulding turnpike at Rochester, and a 50 cent hike for those taking the exit off I-93 to Hooksett.
An analysis in the bill shows that this would increase toll revenue by $53.3 million in fiscal year 2027 and go up each year to generate $81.4 million a year in 2036.
Senate Bill 627 passed on a voice vote with two Republicans, Senators Regina Birdsell of Hampstead and William Gannon of Sandown opposing.
Senator Mark E. McConkey, R-Freedom, moved to take the bill off the table and offered an amendment.
He said the last time there was a systemwide increase to the turnpike toll was 19 years ago.
“I am sure we could all agree the cost of operations…has continued to escalate when revenue is not rising with it,” and he noted that with an enterprise fund, the state can only spend what it takes in.
The state has just completed a 10-year highway plan and there was a $400 million shortfall in projects that could not be paid for under the current income.
McConkey said the measure would not increase tolls for New Hampshire drivers with a state license plate.
“Why don’t we ask our neighbors,” to pay a toll increase. “We are getting the best of all worlds,” by passing the bill, he said, including “protecting our residents” and having resources for improvements to the turnpike system.
Sen. Gannon, R-Sandown, asked McConkey if there are any studies on impacts near the border on businesses.
If implemented, McConkey said the state will be the 27th lowest in per mile cost still. McConkey said the bill would also increase from seven to 14 days the amount of time for those with NH license plates to pay for a toll adding there are other states that also have different rates for out-of-state users.
The Hampton toll cost would go from $2 to $3, while Hooksett and Bedford would rise from $1 to $2 for out-of-state plates.
New Hampshire currently has the lowest rate per mile among states with tolls roads.
The governor said she does not support a toll increase.
“We are not going to put a burden on drivers for a toll increase,” Ayotte said. “Families are struggling.”
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