LBK and McGarrigle Law Firm represent two victims abused by DCJDC staff
PHILADELPHIA (March 24, 2021) – Philadelphia attorneys Guy D’Andrea, Guy D’Andrea, Stewart Ryan, Alexandria MacMaster, and Jillian Roth of LBK, LLP, along with Daniel McGarrigle of the McGarrigle Law firm, today announce that they have filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center, and Child Guidance Resources Center on behalf of their clients, two former residents of the now-closed youth detention center in Lima, Pennsylvania.
After an investigation involving clients of the Public Defender’s Office of Delaware County and three whistleblowers who worked inside the center, Christopher Welsh, Chief Public Defender for Delaware County, revealed multiple credible allegations of physical, sexual and mental abuse perpetrated by the center’s staff against children in their custody. Delaware County President Judge Kevin Kelly ordered the facility closed and the children who were detained there transferred immediately to other facilities, while the state investigates the center.
The lawsuit filed by LBK seeks to hold the center accountable for years of rampant sexual, physical, and psychological violence.
“For decades at DCJDC, a culture of abuse not only festered but was perpetrated by staff and facilitated by cover ups at multiple levels from guards to supervisors to counselors and their superiors,” said attorney Guy D’Andrea. “This is about all of the young boys and girls who were sentenced to a lifetime of pain and anguish by the physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect that they were forced to endure.”
In the suit, two of those children allege years of abuse including rape and repeated physical abuse. The allegations demonstrate the culture of abuse and secrecy at the center. For example, Jane Doe alleges that she was taken to “private parties” by guards where she would be given alcohol and drugs, and the guards would sexually abuse her. Other guards were aware of these “parties” and did nothing to prevent them from happening.
“DHS and Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center have a duty to protect the children in their custody,” Attorney Daniel McGarrigle said. “Thanks to the Delaware County Public Defender’s Office, we now know how widespread this abuse has been. Now, we must protect the children who were repeatedly victimized and make sure that it can’t happen again to any other children.”
Anyone with information about Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center or who has been victimized themselves can call the law firm’s hotline at 855.382.3385. For more information, contact Guy D’Andrea directly at 215.399.9255 or GDAndrea@laffeybuccikent.com or Daniel McGarrigle at 610-566-3010.
LBK, LLP is a personal injury law firm representing individuals seriously injured due to the negligence of others. The trial lawyers at LBK have a long history of fighting for victims of crime, especially survivors of physical and sexual abuse, through lawsuits in the civil justice system. For more information, go to www.laffeybuccikent.com.
