'Horrific Child Abuse,' Rape Alleged At Training School In Montgomery: Lawsuit

MONTGOMERY, NJ — Five men have filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey Training School in Montgomery claiming they were raped and sexually abused as children.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in Somerset County Superior Court by Levy Konigsberg Attorneys Moshe Maimon and Clark Binkley against the State of New Jersey.

The five men are among 25 who the law firm has filed lawsuits on their behalf this week claiming sexual abuse when they were confined as juveniles at New Jersey’s juvenile detention facilities in Jamesburg and Montgomery.

The facility, known as the Lloyd McCorkle Training School, had been located in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township until it closed in the early 1990s.

The lawsuit claims the facility was known for its “dangerous conditions, with widespread reports of overcrowding, underfunding and horrific child abuse.”

The five men, who are only identified in the lawsuit by their initials, allege they were sexually abused by the guards, counselors, and other staff members “who were supposed to be looking out for them.”

“This widespread pattern of abuse could only have flourished at Skillman because the State of New Jersey tolerated it, failing the children in its care through years of negligence,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges the men suffered physical, psychological, and emotional injuries asa result of the sexual abuse.

The sexual abuse alleged at the Montgomery facility included inappropriate strip searches to rape using violent physical force.

Much of the abuse was not reported due to threats of retaliation such as being sent to solitary confinement or losing visitation privileges, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuits filed by Levy Konigsberg were brought under New Jersey’s Child Sexual Abuse Act (“CSAA”), a 2019 law that expanded the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits in cases of child sexual abuse.

“For too long, vulnerable children in the state’s custody have suffered unthinkable abuse at juvenile detention centers across the state, victims of a broken juvenile justice system. The state had a responsibility to these children and it failed that responsibility,” according to a statement from Levy Konigsberg.

The State of New Jersey has 35 days to file a written response or motion to the lawsuit.

See the full lawsuit below: