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Federal Lawsuit Alleges Systematic Civil Rights Abuses at the Maine Youth Center
Lawsuit Alleges that Dozens of Staff Members at the Maine Department of Corrections Physically Assaulted, Sexually Assaulted, and Isolated Children at a State-run Juvenile Detention Center
PHILADELPHIA, May 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anapol Weiss, Hallett Whipple Weyrens, Kitner Woodward PLLC, and Frenkel & Frenkel LLP have filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine alleging that more than 60 Maine Department of Corrections employees and contractors subjected children at the Maine Youth Center to years of systemic constitutional violations throughout the 1990s.
According to the complaint, State employees and contractors at the Maine Youth Center, now known as Long Creek Youth Development Center, subjected detained children, as young as 11 years old, to excessive and unreasonable force, sexual assault, solitary confinement, and deliberate indifference to substantial risks of serious harm. The complaint further alleges that children who tried to speak out and report the abuse were frequently retaliated against.
“The unwritten policy for the treatment of vulnerable children at the Maine Youth Center in the 1990s was to ‘lock them down and beat them up.’ Children who dared to speak up about the horrific treatment they endured were punished with solitary confinement and physically beaten. Many children were held in isolation for months, and some for more than a year,” said Hallett Whipple Weyrens civil rights attorney Tom Hallett.
“No child should be subjected to any form of abuse. Staff at the Maine Youth Center had a duty and responsibility to keep the children in their custody safe,” said Anapol Weiss partner Laura Gilson. “The Defendants in this case did the very opposite in time and again violating our clients’ constitutional rights.”
The plaintiffs, identified as Jane Doe 1 and John Does 1–8, are seeking compensatory damages for the severe and lasting trauma they survived.
About Anapol Weiss
Anapol Weiss is a nationally recognized personal injury and mass tort firm representing individuals and families harmed by corporate and institutional wrongdoing. The firm has been at the forefront of litigation holding correctional facilities to account for sexual abuse and other constitutional violations that occurred at the hands of correctional staff members.
About Hallett Whipple Weyrens
Hallett Whipple Weyrens is a law firm of trial lawyers located in Portland, Maine. The firm specializes in criminal law and serious personal injury claims. Attorney Tom Hallett’s practice focuses on vindicating the rights of sexual abuse victims and those whose civil rights have been violated.
About Kitner Woodward PLLC
Kitner Woodward PLLC has significant experience representing plaintiffs in class action, mass tort, mass arbitration, and serious personal injury matters. The firm’s attorneys have served as lead counsel in nationwide class actions and in multi-district litigations. They have litigated cases in state and federal courts throughout the country, including state supreme courts, federal courts of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. The firm brings that experience to bear for clients seeking justice, accountability, and meaningful change.
About Frenkel & Frenkel LLP
Frenkel & Frenkel LLP is a plaintiffs’ firm founded in 1994 and based in Dallas, TX, with a nationwide practice of protecting individuals against corrupt and/or negligent corporations or other entities and seeking justice for their clients’ harms and losses. No strangers to the courtroom, the partners have consistently won awards for their excellent results spanning more than three decades.
Media Contact:
Nina Negrin
Buchanan Public Relations
nina.negrin@buchananpr.com
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