Hundreds of Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Maryland Juvenile Detention Centers Rally to Seek Justice Under Maryland's Laws

BALTIMORE, March 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Adults who were sexually abused by State of Maryland employees while in the care of the state's juvenile detention centers over the last five decades, gathered in front of Baltimore City Hall today to demand that the state stay true to its 2023 pledge to address their injuries.

Survivor after survivor stood on the podium, announced their name, and shared their story to the crowd and TV cameras assembled before them.

"My name is Nalisha Gibbs and I am a survivor," Gibbs told the crowd. "Today I stand before you as someone who was subjected to abuse while in the custody of the Maryland juvenile facility, a system that was meant to protect and rehabilitate young people like me."

Gibbs was just 13 years old when she was sent to a juvenile detention center after breaking curfew by 15 minutes.

"My detainment was only supposed to be for 30 days, but the ramifications lasted me a lifetime," said Gibbs. "This is a 35-year journey for me."

In 2023, the State of Maryland passed the Child Victims Act, which lifted the 20-year statute of limitations on sexual abuse lawsuits against public and private entities, including government agencies, allowing adults who suffered abuse as children to sue the state for justice. More than 4,000 adults who were children in those centers have pursued claims since the legislature's action in 2023.

"These cases aren't about a few 'bad apples' - they represent a massive systemic failure by the State of Maryland and Department of Juvenile Detention Services," Adam Slater, Founding & Managing Partner of Slater Slater Schulman LLP, stated. "For example, one state employee, Ronald Neverdon, is alleged to have abused 69 clients of my firm while they were residents at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School in Baltimore, and that's just a single person at one facility. Acknowledging this reality, the Maryland Supreme Court recently affirmed the constitutionality of the Child Victims Act, in recognition of the fact that childhood trauma doesn't conform to standard timeframes."

The Attorney General of the State of Maryland had been negotiating with plaintiffs until earlier this month, when his office filed a motion to dismiss one of the plaintiff's claims in Fredrick County. Along with the motion to dismiss, the Attorney General filed a motion for a protective order to prevent plaintiffs from seeking discovery while the motion to dismiss was being considered. The Attorney General also moved to delay the proceedings in the other cases, against the wishes of plaintiffs.

"We are calling on Attorney General Anthony Brown and the State of Maryland to accept responsibility and to stop applying a double standard when it comes to sexual abuse," said Jerome Block of Levy Konigsberg.

"In 2023, the Attorney General supported survivors who were sexually abused by the Catholic Church and issued a report documenting the abuse and cover-up. But now, when the State is the one that perpetrated sexual abuse on a mass scale in juvenile detention centers and covered it up, the Attorney General is not supporting these survivors and is accepting zero responsibility," noted Block. "The State is not above the law and must be held accountable."

"What happened to the survivors of the state's systemic abuse is not just a burden they must carry alone - it is a responsibility we all share," said Kristen Gibbons Feden of Anapol Weiss, co-counsel with Bailey Glasser. "A society that allows children to be abused in its own institutions and then abandons them when they seek justice is a society that is failing its own future."

"I refuse to let Maryland's leaders sweep this under the rug. I refuse to be silent," said Elexis Massey. "To the State of Maryland and to every official who has the power to do the right thing, the time is up. The delays stop here. The excuses stop here. Justice is not negotiable. You have the power to make this right, and if you don't, then you're just as complicit as the people who hurt us. I will not be another name on a forgotten list of victims. I am here. I'm speaking out, and I will not stop until a real change is made to every survivor who has felt unheard and unseen."

Feden, speaking directly into the collection of TV cameras lined up before her, closed the rally with a cry for action: "To the State of Maryland: The time for avoidance is over. The time for half-measures is done. It is time for these survivors to get the justice they have fought so long to receive."

About the Law Firms Representing Plaintiffs

Levy Konigsberg, Bailey Glasser, Anapol Weiss, Slater Slater Schulman. 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Michelle Fishburne, 1 866-ESQUIRE, [email protected]
Joan Vollero, Allan Morancie / ICR, Inc.
[email protected]

SOURCE Levy Konigsberg; Bailey Glasser; Anapol Weiss; Slater Slater Schulman LLP