Levy Konigsberg Files Lawsuits on Behalf of 221 Men and Women Who Were Sexually Abused as Children at Maryland's Juvenile Detention Facilities

Levy Konigsberg Attorneys Jerome Block and Clark Binkley have filed a lawsuit on behalf of 221 men and women who suffered sexual abuse when they were confined as children at Maryland's juvenile detention facilities, as total number of claims approaches 2,000.

NEW YORK, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Levy Konigsberg has filed lawsuits against the State of Maryland, alleging that the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services ("DJS") failed to protect children from rampant sexual abuse at 15 of the state's juvenile detention facilities. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of 221 men and women who were abused as children at various detention facilities, is the latest in a string of Maryland juvenile detention abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg. These new filings come less than a week after the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 1378 which, if approved by Governor Wes Moore, would set lower damages caps in cases filed under the Maryland Child Victims Act.

As detailed in the lawsuit, Maryland's juvenile detention system has for generations "allowed a culture of abuse to flourish" across its many prison-like detention facilities. Widespread reports and investigations into the traumatizing environment and violently abusive staff went ignored by DJS, allowing untold numbers of children to suffer sexual abuse at the hands of guards, counselors, and other staff members who were supposed to be looking out for them.

The lawsuits filed by Levy Konigsberg was brought under the Maryland Child Victims Act ("CVA"), a 2023 law that eliminated the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits in cases of child sexual abuse. Many of the survivors seeking justice in this lawsuit were abused years, even decades, ago, suffering in silence until their claims were finally made possible by the CVA. But in recent months, the State legislature has begun trying to claw back these rights from survivors, passing legislation that would cut their recovery by more than half and limit their time for filing.

In announcing today's lawsuits filed on behalf of 221 men and women, Levy Konigsberg Partner Jerome Block stated:

"The State of Maryland failed thousands of children by enabling rampant, institutional sexual abuse in juvenile detention centers for decades. Now the State is failing these survivors again through the passage of HB 1378 which, if approved by Governor Moore, would unfairly limit recoveries for child sexual abuse survivors and unconstitutionally revoke substantial rights provided by the Maryland Child Victims Act."

Levy Konigsberg has filed hundreds of lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse nationwide, and is at the forefront of CVA litigation in Maryland, having filed some of the first lawsuits about the widespread sexual abuse in Maryland's juvenile detention facilities. The Baltimore Sun and The Associated Press have covered Levy Konigsberg's some of lawsuits on behalf of men and women who had been sexually abused as children at Maryland's many juvenile detention facilities, including Cheltenham Youth Detention Center, Thomas J.S. Waxter Children's Center, and Charles H. Hickey, Jr. School. Interested parties can read the articles here, here, and here.

Levy Konigsberg represents over 1,000 survivors of sexual abuse at Maryland's juvenile detention facilities and plans to continue fighting tirelessly on their behalf.

For additional information about childhood sexual abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg, media members and journalists are encouraged to reach out to Attorney Jerome Block by using the law firm's contact form: https://www.levylaw.com/contact-us/

CONTACT: Jerome Block, [email protected]

SOURCE Levy Konigsberg