Nearly 200 victims sue WA for ‘widespread’ sexual abuse within juvenile detention
Sep 6, 2024, 7:01 AM | Updated: 7:01 am
Sign for Green Hill School in Chehalis, Washington. (Photo courtesy of Green Hill School)
(Photo courtesy of Green Hill School)
Citing a period spanning more than six decades, nearly 200 people — all formerly incarcerated minors who stayed in a Washington juvenile detention center — came forward with a lawsuit against the State of Washington regarding its negligence to ongoing “sexual abuse and degradation” within its juvenile detention system.
The lawsuit alleged the state failed to protect the incarcerated minors against sexual abuse by adult staff members within its youth detention centers. The minors’ ages ranged from 8 to 17 when the sexual abuse occurred, according to the lawsuit.
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“An 8-year-old who was forced to do unspeakable things,” Vanessa Oslund, attorney and owner of Bergman Oslund Udo Little, told KING 5. “These are kids who were sodomized. These are kids, boys and girls, who were forced to perform oral sex on men in the showers. These are 13-year-old boys who were manipulated into losing their virginity to a 50-year-old woman.”
Echo Glen Children’s Center, Green Hill School, Naselle Youth Camp and Maple Lane School were just some of the facilities listed in the lawsuit. In addition to the State of Washington, the lawsuit accused more than 100 state employees for either participating or facilitating the abuse. The employees accused include guards, counselors, medical staff and heads of security.
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According to KIRO 7, the lawsuit also claimed that staff members used drugs, bribes and threats to make the minors compliant, including staff trafficking illicit substances — such as fentanyl — within the juvenile facilities in exchange for sexual acts.
KING 5 investigative reporter Chris Ingalls recently shared public records that show the state spent $4.4 million since 2018 to settle 23 claims against Green Hill School staff.
Oslund said the trial will likely take place in 12 to 18 months. The damages the lawsuit is seeking are unspecified at this time.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” attorney Firnhaber Oslund, a representative of the plaintiffs, told The Seattle Times.
Contributing: KIRO 7
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
