New Hampshire
New Hampshire agrees to pay $10 million in youth center abuse case
The New Hampshire attorney general’s office has agreed to a $10 million settlement in the case of a man who alleged that he was gang-raped in a stairwell at the state’s youth detention center in the 1990s.
Michael Gilpatrick’s lawsuit against the state would have been the second of more than 1,300 to go to trial, but instead both sides agreed to settle out of court, his lawyers said Saturday.
The payout is four times the maximum amount available to those who submit claims via the state’s settlement fund for abuse victims, though less than half the amount a jury awarded last May in another lawsuit, the first of its kind that went to trial. The $38 million verdict in that case remains in dispute as the state seeks to slash it to $475,000.
Gilpatrick, now 41, was 14 when he was sent to the Youth Development Center for three years in 1997. His lawsuit accused 10 staffers at the Manchester facility of sexual or physical abuse, including repeated rapes and being choked to the point of unconsciousness.
“There was nobody you could go to at YDC to talk to. You were literally stuck in your own thoughts, in your own fear every single day,” he said in a 2021 interview. “That place turned us into what we were. I can’t say what I am now because I’m a better person now. But coming out of that place, I was a monster.”
In one incident, Gilpatrick said, two staffers held him down in a stairwell while another raped him and a fourth man forced him to perform a sex act. Those allegations resulted in criminal charges against four former staffers whom Gilpatrick called a “hit squad;” two of them have faced trial so far.
Brad Asbury, 70, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison after being convicted in November of being an accomplice to aggravated sexual assault. But jurors deadlocked in January on whether Stephen Murphy was guilty of rape, leading to a mistrial. Murphy, who denied assaulting Gilpatrick, faces three other trials related to other former residents.
“The four of them used to roll together, and they would go to different cottages and beat kids,” Gilpatrick testified at the first civil trial. “They would literally come over and just go door to door and beat every single one of us, down the line.”
The settlement spares Gilpatrick from what likely would have been another emotionally difficult court proceeding. He also testified at the two criminal trials, at times lashing out angrily at defense lawyers.
He said he did not tell anyone what happened to him at the time because dorm leaders were involved in the assault, and he then spent decades trying to bury his memories.
“Once I was about to accept the fact that it wasn’t my fault and I was able to stop blaming myself, I knew I had to say something,” he testified on Jan. 16.
Eleven former youth counselors have been arrested since the attorney general’s office began investigating the facility in 2019, though charges against one were dropped, another was found incompetent to stand trial and a third died awaiting trial. Two men have been convicted, and another case that ended in a hung jury is expected to be retried later this year.
The Associated Press generally does not identify those who say they were victims of sexual assault unless they have come forward publicly, as Gilpatrick and others have done.
The youth center, which once housed upward of 100 children but now typically serves fewer than a dozen, is named for former Gov. John H. Sununu. Lawmakers have approved closing the facility, which now only houses those accused or convicted of the most serious violent crimes, and replacing it with a much smaller one in a new location.
CONCORD, NH — Concord fire and rescue teams, as well as the forestry unit, were sent to a homeless camp fire off Fort Eddy Road on Saturday morning.
Around 1 a.m., a Concord police officer, who was patrolling near the Everett Arena on Loudon Road, reported seeing a fire in the woods across the river. The officer told dispatch they thought it might be behind the former Shaw’s supermarket.
“It looks like a pretty large fire,” they said, “I’m going to head there.”
Police dispatch contacted Concord Fire Alarm, which sent firefighters and the forestry unit to the scene.
The first-arriving officer said the fire was behind Lowe’s, but the best access was from Fort Eddy Plaza. After additional police arrived, they entered the woods to find the camp. Firefighters then arrived at the scene.
After about 10 minutes, officers discovered the exact location of the camp and the fire and reported there were several people in the area.
The fire battalion commander said they would be sending in “a little bucket brigade to put it out.”
New Hampshire
Man From Weare Arrested On Stalking Charge After Gas Station Incident: Concord Police Log
CONCORD, NH — Kyle G. Sanders, born in 1988, of Manchester, was arrested at 11:03 a.m. on May 27 on a warrant. He was arrested at police headquarters.
Sean P. Lambert, born in 1992, of Concord, was arrested at 2:13 a.m. on May 25 on a bench warrant following an investigation or incident at the Durgin Block Garage at 17 School St.
Matthew C. Milne, born in 1980, of Concord, was arrested at 7:44 p.m. on May 24 on theft by unauthorized taking a felony due to two prior convictions, and willful concealment following an investigation or incident at the Speedway at 175 N. Main St.
Kristen L. Macrae, born in 1991, of Pittsfield, was arrested at 8:23 p.m. on May 23 on three warrants. She was arrested following an investigation or incident on Ferry Street.
Jeremiah J. Martel, born in 1978, of Weare, was arrested on a stalking charge at 7:01 p.m. on May 22 following an investigation or incident at the Shell gas station at 333 Loudon Road.
Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.
Mark D. Yeskis, born in 1972, of Concord, was arrested at 7:52 p.m. on May 12 on criminal trespass and breach of bail charges. He was arrested following an investigation or incident at the Speedway gas station at 175 N. Main St.
Dakota Austin Marsh, born in 1994, of Concord, was arrested at 10:01 a.m. on May 12 on camping restricted and generic city ordinance violations following an investigation or incident on Pleasant Street Extension.
Dylan Joshua Lawler, born in 2001, of Deering, received a summons at 9:13 a.m. on May 12 on a conduct after an accident charge following an investigation or incident on Washington Street.
Dain Austin Blackadar Jr., born in 1990, of Concord, was arrested at 1:54 a.m. on May 12 on a bench warrant and two warrants. Also arrested was John L. Taylor, born in 1992, of Concord, on a warrant. They were both arrested following an investigation or incident on Ferry Street.
Matthew P. Lyons, born in 1969, of Concord, was arrested at 12:42 a.m. on May 12 on simple assault, domestic violence-simple assault, and criminal mischief charges. He was arrested following an investigation or incident on Alton Woods Drive.
Do you have a news tip? Email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 217 communities — and expanding every day. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.
New Hampshire
Manchester Man Indicted On Pembroke Child Assault Charges: Merrimack County Superior Court Roundup
CONCORD, NH — A grand jury in Merrimack County recently indicted the individuals listed below.
Robert S. Bzdula III, 23, of West Chrisco Road in Seagrove, North Carolina, on a felony count of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault. He was accused of exposing his erect penis in front of a child under 13 between Dec. 1, 2022, and July 26, 2025, in Dunbarton.
John Camden, 42, a homeless man now located in Concord, on a felony controlled drug, prohibited-fentanyl, on Jan. 6 in Concord.
Timothy Casey, 24, a member of Concord’s unhoused community, on a felony receiving stolen property charge. He was accused of possessing stolen copper pipes from Yamas on South Main Street in Concord, on March 18.
Keyan Chambers, 30, of Brown Avenue in Manchester, on second-degree assault and second-degree assault-attempt charges. He was accused of assaulting a child in Pembroke, causing hemorrhaging to his neck on March 27, 2025. Between March 1 and March 31, 2025, Chambers pushed the child against the wall, “toward the commission of… strangulation,” according to an indictment, in Pembroke.
Megan R. Champagne, 40, a homeless woman now located in Concord, on a felony count of conspiracy to commit theft by unauthorized taking. She agreed with David King to steal a tent from Target in Concord on Dec. 10, 2025, according to the indictment.
Sarai J. Chapman, 35, of Spofford Street in Claremont, on a felony possession of methamphetamine charge on Nov. 25, 2025, in Henniker.
Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Merrimack County Superior Court and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.
Amanda S. Colgan, 38, of Main Street in Claremont, on a felony count of controlled drug act; acts prohibited-meth in Bradford on Dec. 30, 2025.
Jay Thomas Johnson, 50, of Woodbryer Avenue in Greensborough, North Carolina, on a felony count of identity fraud. He was accused of posing as another and requesting the man’s detailed banking information at Merrimack County Savings Bank in Concord on Oct. 6, 2025.
Matthew W. Kelly, 46, with a last known address of Robie Road in Salisbury, on a felony count of penalty; registration of criminal offenders. He was accused of failing to let Concord police of his residence on Feb. 2. Kelly is a Tier III sex offender due to a rape conviction in Massachusetts in September 2003.
Stephanie M. Kelly, 37, of Pheasant Lane in Manchester, on a felony controlled drug act; acts prohibited-meth charge on May 8, 2024, in Hooksett.
Kayleigh King, 23, of Union Street in Concord, on a felony assault by prisoners charge. While in the Merrimack County Jail in Boscawen, she was accused of kicking a corrections officer in the stomach on Feb. 20.
Timothy J. Leclair, 45, of Canterbury, on possession of fentanyl and possession of a fentanyl and meth mix charges, both felonies, on May 4, 2025, in Hooksett.
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