Six former inmates at Essex County Juvenile Detention Center sue over 'unthinkable abuse'
Six former inmates of Essex County Juvenile Detention Center filed a joint lawsuit, which claims the county's negligence permitted ― if not engendered ― a decades-long pattern of sexual abuse they allegedly experienced at the hands of correctional officers.
"For too long, vulnerable children in Essex County's custody have suffered unthinkable abuse at its juvenile detention center," stated Moshe Maimon, a partner at Levy Konigsberg LLP, the law firm that filed the complaint in State Superior Court on Tuesday. "The county had a responsibility to these children, and it failed to uphold that responsibility."
Maimon described his firm's clients as "victims of a broken juvenile justice system" in the statement.
In each account, the plaintiffs say they were coerced into performing sexual acts on various correctional officers ― in one allegation a gym teacher ― or have acts performed on them, through the promise of extra meals and contraband. Or, conversely, state they submitted to the abuse under threats that their meals would be withheld, or their visitation and phone privileges revoked, according to a copy of the complaint.
One plaintiff, a 32-year-old woman, who was housed in the facility between 2007 and 2008, alleges a correctional officer entered her cell and touched her genitals before she swatted away the officer's hand. In retaliation, the abuser had her cited for assaulting an officer and moved her to solitary confinement.
She says she reported the abuse, but was physically assaulted by a second officer in retaliation. That officer, she claims, filed additional charges against her, which extended her sentence at the facility.
The youngest accuser, now 23 years old, says he reported his abuse to a sergeant at the time the assaults occurred, but his complaints were ignored.
Two plaintiffs in the case ― both males, now in their 50s, who were remanded to the facility in the 1980s ― claim they were separately abused by the same "senior officer," who used snacks he smuggled into the detention center to "curry favor" among his victims and other detainees.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for pain and suffering, punitive damages and legal fees, alleging six separate counts against the county; including sexual abuse, cruel and unusual punishment, negligence and failure to implement adequate policies. None of the alleged abusers are party to the lawsuit.
County spokesman Anthony Puglisi said his office does not comment on pending litigation.
A litany of accusations
Essex County Department of Corrections has been riddled by scandal for decades, facing a litany of accusations involving a culture of abuse and lack of oversight at its facilities. From 1987 until 2008, the juvenile center was operated under a federal consent decree, due to overcrowding and substandard housing conditions, according to a prior report from The Star-Ledger.
In 2019, the county was sued in federal court by the estate of a former inmate, who hung himself while housed at Essex County jail, despite having been restrained in a straight jacket at the time. The complaint alleged the man's brother was not properly screened, monitored nor treated for mental illness.
More: Rallygoers in Newark demand action after brutal Essex County jail beating
Most recently, the state won convictions against current and former inmates at the troubled jail, who were involved in the 2019 assault on Jayshawn Boyd. The bloody assault occurred when six inmates pummeled Boyd for two minutes, all of which was captured on security footage. The brutal attack reached its climax when one or more of the assailants dropped a microwave on Boyd's head.
While he survived the ordeal, Boyd suffered brain damage, from which he is unlikely to recover, according to his attorney Courtney Brookes. A lawsuit Brookes filed on his behalf states Boyd is schizophrenic, and alleges he was placed in a cell block known for its violence despite multiple psychological evaluations indicating he should not have been housed among the general population.
Earlier this month, his lawsuit was reassigned to a Superior Court judge in Hudson County.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Essex Juvenile Detention Center sued over alleged sexual abuse
