After sexual abuse claims, politically connected treatment center seeks immunity
Editor's note: This story was originally published in April. We have republished it to include recent updates.
UPDATES: IndyStar and ProPublica combined on an investigation into Pierceton Woods in Nov. 2023 showing there were signs of sexual abuse at the youth center and the state kept sending boys and money anyway. In Dec., lawmakers responded that they were seeking solutions in wake of the investigation.
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A faith-based residential treatment center accused of allowing staff to sexually abuse boys is pushing for legislation that would protect it and similar state contractors from most lawsuits filed by victims and their families.
The legislation would provide immunity to child caring institutions and group homes in connection with the performance of duties under a contract with the Indiana Department of Child Services. Those contractors include Lifeline Youth & Family Services/Lasting Change, a politically connected operator that provides homebased services and runs a residential treatment center in Northern Indiana.
The Fort Wayne nonprofit is a leading promoter of the legislation. It is DCS's largest contractor, raking in nearly $200 million from the state since 2017. Its fundraisers have featured former governor and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
Pierceton Woods Academy in Fort Wayne faces accusations
One of Lifeline's facilities is Pierceton Woods Academy, a residential treatment center about 30 miles west of Fort Wayne that provides care for sexually maladapted youth.
The academy has been accused of allowing employees to abuse teenage boys, then covering it up. A psychologist hired by the attorneys of one victim said in a report submitted as part of the 2020 lawsuit that at least a dozen staffers were known or suspected to have sexually abused boys at Pierceton Woods.
Curtis Smith, a spokesman for Lifeline, said the nonprofit denies allegations that it failed to protect minors from sexual abuse or that it was aware of and covered up sexual assault allegations.
"We love helping these boys heal and get better," Lifeline CEO Tim Smith told lawmakers during a hearing in March. "It is the only reason we do what we do."
But Travis McConnell, the attorney who filed the lawsuit alleging sexual abuse at Pierceton Woods, said Smith lied to lawmakers about his client's case in an effort to keep the immunity legislation alive.
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“If there’s no accountability for their actions, then there’s no incentive to do the right thing," McConnell said. "By giving people immunity, you’re giving people a free pass to do whatever they please.”
The controversial proposal, House Bill 1282, appeared dead earlier this month after a Senate committee failed to advance it, but lawmakers appeared ready to add the liability protections to House Bill 1091 as of Tuesday. If that happens, the full House and Senate could vote on the measure this week.
CEO accused of misleading lawmakers
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Tim Smith said the immunity legislation is needed because of a huge increase in insurance premiums. Without relief, he said, the company already has reduced the number of boys it serves and may not be able to continue providing important rehabilitation services.
Smith testified the annual insurance premium jumped from $30,000 for $3 million coverage to $500,000 for less coverage. He blamed “one lawsuit in 55 years” even though it was settled for “nuisance value,” a legal term for an amount less than it would cost to fight a lawsuit. Smith said he could not disclose the settlement amount because it was confidential.
McConnell, the Warsaw attorney who represented the family in that lawsuit, called out Smith on the nuisance settlement claim.
“That statement was not true,” McConnell said. “So not only does Lasting Change want the taxpayer to cover their negligence, its CEO is willing to lie to the Legislature in order to try and make it happen.”
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McConnell said Smith’s statement voided the confidentiality agreement, and he provided IndyStar a photocopy of a $72,000 settlement check from Lifeline’s insurance company.
Curtis Smith, the Lifeline spokesman, said Tim Smith "stands firmly" behind his opinion that the settlement was for "nuisance value," adding that McConnell "appears to misunderstand" the terms of the settlement.
Records detail troubled history at residential treatment center
Court documents and DCS records in the lawsuit detail a troubled facility rife with allegations of the abuse of young boys — most already abuse victims seeking treatment. The case alleged a 16-year-old boy was groomed and sexually abused by a female worker.
An investigation by DCS found that allegations of child seduction against the employee were substantiated, meaning there’s enough evidence for a “reasonable person” to believe the boy had been abused. It also revealed the same employee had been investigated two years earlier for similar allegations and allowed to keep her job despite refusing to cooperate with that earlier DCS investigation.
The lawsuit alleged the woman coerced the boy, and other residents, into participating in various sexual acts over several months in 2019. The employee formed a so-called “circle of trust” with the boys and repeatedly told them they could be open with her, according to a complaint filed in Kosciusko County in October 2020.
The complaint also alleged that multiple supervisors were or should have been aware of the accusations against the employee, but they “failed to implement policies to prevent sexual assault” and, instead, “chose to minimize and cover up” such allegations.
Indiana DCS investigates sexual assault accusations
DCS began its investigation in 2019. In interviews with a family case manager, the boy and another resident said the woman had sexual contact with them during movie outings and walks near Pierceton Woods. The employee admitted forming the “circle of trust” with the residents and taking them on walks and outings, but denied any sexual abuse, according to the case documents.
In 2017, police and DCS looked into similar allegations against the same employee, but neither the woman nor the alleged victim cooperated. Lifeline kept the employee on staff with direct access to male residents, documents say.
Curtis Smith, Lifeline's spokesman, said the nonprofit can't comment on DCS investigations, although he said the nonprofit cooperated with the agency. The employee in question no longer works for Lifeline, he said. He did not say if she was fired or if she resigned.
A psychologist’s report prepared for the lawsuit said Lifeline “showed deliberate indifference” to the rampant sexual abuse of young boys, interfered with the ability of residents and staff to report to DCS, and “emboldened sexual predators.”
Staffers who were accused of or committed sexual misconduct were sometimes reassigned or given the opportunity to resign, allowing them to move to other youth organizations, Kristine Chapleau, a licensed clinical psychologist in Indianapolis, wrote in her 21-page report. Chapleau's assessment was based on interviews, DCS reports, mental health records, company policies and court depositions.
“The work environment at Pierceton Woods was highly sexualized. Several female staff talked openly about sex, fought over who was having sex with the male staff, and even bragged about abusing the male youth,” Chapleau wrote, citing an employee who boasted about such abuse. “Yet, these ‘giant red banners’ were repeatedly ignored.”
At least a dozen staffers were known or suspected to have sexually abused boys at Pierceton Woods, according to Chapleau’s report. One employee was allowed to resign after sexually abusing a boy under 15 and was never reported to DCS, according to the report. So was another employee who sexually abused a 15-year-old boy inside a supply closet. Another was allegedly impregnated by a resident she helped escape from the academy, the report said.
In 2020, another female employee was investigated by DCS and arrested for child seduction. She pled guilty to two misdemeanors in a deal with the prosecutor.
Curtis Smith said Chapleau was hired by the plaintiff's attorney, McConnell, to pursue money damages in the lawsuit and neither visited Lifeline facilities nor interviewed any employees. He added that Chapleau's report was based on "hand-picked" information and documents.
During the litigation, Lifeline's attorneys expected their own medical experts to "deeply scrutinize" the findings and prepared to "vigorously cross-examine" Chapleau before the plaintiff decided to settle, Curtis Smith said.
Chapleau told IndyStar her report was based on the sworn depositions of eight employees, Lifeline’s policies, and the substantiated DCS investigation.
"Within a month of receiving my report, Lifeline agreed to settle without asking for my deposition," she said. "It’s troubling that, even today, Lifeline would rather 'deeply scrutinize' those who uncover the abuse than their employees who commit the abuse."
'This takes the consequence away'
The lawsuit filed by McConnell was voluntarily dismissed by agreement of the parties in February 2022 after discovery, including multiple depositions that were taken. That dismissal was tied to a then-confidential financial settlement with the family.
The dispute was rekindled last month following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on HB 1282, which would prohibit negligence claims such as the one McConnell brought against Pierceton Woods.
Under the legislation, immunity would apply to most liability claims, including wrongful death, negligence, malpractice, battery and infliction of emotional distress. There are exclusions for criminal offenses, gross negligence and willful or wanton misconduct, but those cases are rare and much more difficult to prove.
McConnell said he shared information about the settlement in his case after hearing Smith downplay the incident in testimony to the Senate committee. He said Smith's public statement voided the agreement, and he doesn't want to see lawmakers swayed by what he considers misinformation.
Brad Catlin, an attorney who has represented multiple clients in DCS-related lawsuits, said the impact of abuse in youth treatment settings can be particularly devastating for the children involved.
"If they are hurt in places where they are put for care, that’s a terrible thing," he said. "It probably also will seriously make the issues they are dealing with worse."
Lawmakers should ensure contractors are held accountable, he said.
"If some somebody doesn't have a consequence, they're more likely to engage in bad behavior," he said. "And this takes the consequence away."
Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @IndyStarTony.
IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @bykristinep.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Residential treatment center wants immunity after sex abuse accusations
