PHILADELPHIA - A federal lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Delaware County, the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center and the Child Guidance Resource Center alleges child abuse and assault.
According to the complaint filed on April 14 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the allegations come from an anonymous parent and child, CB and SB.
The suit outlines a history of sexual, physical and psychological abuse at the Detention Center, which was ordered closed in March due to concerns for the children's wellbeing.
The minor child plaintiff SB was admitted to the center four times between June 2020 and February 2021 at the age of 16. The plaintiff alleges that she endured abuse the entirety of her stay, including being held down and punched in the face, denied medical attention, excessive force, denial of mental health treatment, derogatory language, roach and insect infestations and denial of food.
The complaint accuses the defendants of failing to act upon the abuse occurring at the detention center even when the plaintiff's mother CB called administration to question the way her daughter was being treated.
The defendants are charged with negligence, negligent and intentional inflection of emotional distress, negligent failure to rescue, failure to warn, negligence per se, excessive and unreasonable force, failure to intervene, deprivation of rights by virtue of state created danger and municipal liability.
The plaintiffs are represented by VSCP Law.