A former youth detention center resident testifies about 'hit squad' attack
BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — A former resident of New Hampshire’s youth detention center testified Thursday that his house leader and another staffer restrained him in a stairwell while two other workers sexually assaulted him.
The four members of what he and other teens called “the hit squad” then carried him back to his room and tossed him in, he said.
“It felt like I hovered over and watched it,” Michael Gilpatrick said, wiping away tears in Rockingham Superior Court. “My body just went blank.”
Gilpatrick, 40, was the first former resident to testify at the first civil trial seeking to hold the state accountable for alleged abuse at the Sununu Youth Services Center, formerly called the Youth Development Center. The three years he spent at the Manchester facility in the late 1990s overlapped with the plaintiff, David Meehan, who alleges the state’s negligence in hiring, staffing and training led to the near-daily rapes, beatings and long stints in solitary confinement he endured. The state, however, argues it was not responsible for the actions of what it calls “rogue” employees.
Related articles
DR MARTIN SCURR: How losing your hearing may cause dementia
Q: You said in a column last month that poor hearing is linked to dementia risk. Could you please ex2024-05-22The Dallas Stars have a big age gap with players who have come together for No. 1 seed in the West
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars have quite an age gap. Top goal scorer Wyatt Johnston is only 20 year2024-05-22China completes construction of record
The photo taken on March 12, 2024, shows the construction site of the Haiji-2 deepwater jacket struc2024-05-22Google fires 28 employees after protest against cloud contract with Israel
Google has fired 28 employees in the aftermath of protests over technology that the internet company2024-05-22Ricky Stenhouse punching Kyle Busch could lead to suspension
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (AP) — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. threw a right hook at Kyle Busch, and suddenly, an2024-05-22First major attempts to regulate AI face headwinds from all sides
DENVER (AP) — Artificial intelligence is helping decide which Americans get the job interview, the a2024-05-22
atest comment