PITTSBURGH – A Western Pennsylvania man alleges that while a juvenile resident at a local rehabilitation center for delinquent youth, he was repeatedly assaulted both physically and sexually by staff members at the facility.
Samuel Alberio filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Oct. 29 versus Abraxas Youth & Family Services (doing business as “Abraxas I” and “Abraxas II”) and Abraxas Leadership Development Program in Pennsylvania, both of Pittsburgh.
Abraxas began its operations as a treatment and rehabilitation center in 1973 in Marienville, where it operated its first facility. The group, headquartered in Pittsburgh, receives delinquent youths as “clients” through a legal referral program.
“Plaintiff was placed, while approximately a 17-year-old in an Abraxas facility in Pennsylvania. Almost immediately upon his arrival, plaintiff was assaulted by staff, in the form of excessive physical restraints. Plaintiff was physically restrained by staff members on too many occasions to recall the exact number. Plaintiff suffered severe pain from each physical restraint, as the staff members were significantly more muscular and heavier in weight,” the suit says.
“On a separate occasion, a staff member on plaintiff’s residential unit physically restrained him, and when defendant’s employee placed him into a control hold and caused plaintiff to have extreme difficulty breathing. While being choked, the staff member was able to continue restricting plaintiff’s breathing while positioned behind him, when defendant’s employee began to gyrate and grind his hips, with an erect penis, into plaintiff’s buttocks, while groping him using a hand to touch plaintiff’s penis and testicles. The staff member continued to rub, touch and stroke plaintiff’s genitals from behind as plaintiff had difficulty breathing. Plaintiff was light-headed from still being choked, while also being groped and fondled by the staff member. When the staff member stopped the assault, plaintiff was in extreme pain both from being choked and having his testicles fondled.”
Alberio added that he was not provided any medical attention after the assault, and was then assaulted a second time, being forcibly removed from the showers and struck across his entire body, including his genitals.
“Plaintiff avers the defendant knew about numerous incidents of staff using excessive force and sexually assaulting plaintiff and other students yet failed to act, supervise or otherwise mitigate against these actions. At all times relevant hereto, plaintiff was a victim of physical, mental and sexual abuse during his time at Abraxas,” the suit states.
For counts of negligence, negligent supervision, hiring and retention and respondeat superior liability, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory, exemplary, punitive and other damages in excess of the local arbitration limits, plus costs, interest and a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by David Wesley Cornish of Cornerstone Legal Group, in Philadelphia.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-21-013400
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com