SURVIVORS OF SYSTEMIC SEXUAL ABUSE SUE THE STATE OF MARYLAND UNDER NEW CHILD VICTIMS ACT OF 2023

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Oct 02, 2023, 09:25 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- An important step towards justice has been made on behalf of hundreds of women and men who survived systemic abuse as children at the hands of the State of Maryland acting through the Department of Juvenile Services and its predecessors.

Sharon Iskra, Partner and Institutional Abuse & Neglect Practice Team Leader

On Sunday, a consortium of four law firms filed six lawsuits against the State of Maryland on behalf of over 50 survivors under the new Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 which, as of October 1, 2023, eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. This new law allows adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file claims that, under previous laws, would have been time-barred. Maryland now joins a trend of states reforming their laws so that survivors may seek justice for sexual abuse that occurred when they were under 18, regardless of their age now.

The law firms representing the survivors include Bailey & Glasser, LLP; Walsh Law PLLC; Rhine Law Firm; and DiCello Levitt.

As alleged in our lawsuits, for decades, previous administrations of the State of Maryland systemically allowed the rape, sodomy, molestation, torture, and egregious abuse and neglect (physical, mental, and emotional) of hundreds of children in its juvenile detention centers. These administrations were negligent in hiring and retaining not only direct staff who harmed children, but third-party providers whose personnel had felony convictions and histories of using excessive force against juveniles. The State failed to monitor, and more importantly, failed to fix its system despite numerous external investigations documenting serious abuse dating back to 1967, prior class action lawsuits alleging civil rights and Constitutional violations, and explicit complaints from the children themselves. The Complaints ascribes responsibility for this dereliction of duties to the top personnel of the system who could have prevented these harms, but instead inexplicably turned a blind eye to the horrific abuse its own staff was inflicting upon the defenseless children who had been entrusted to its care for help and reform.

We look forward to working with the current administration in pursuing justice and a semblance of closure for these survivors. As Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown stated in the April 2023 Attorney General's Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore: "Our judicial system should provide a means for victims who have suffered these harms to seek damages from the people and institutions responsible for them."

Lead counsel for Bailey Glasser are partners Sharon F. Iskra, leader of the firm's Institutional Abuse & Neglect practice team, and firm founder Brian A. Glasser. The lead counsel for Walsh Law includes founding partner Alexandra Walsh and partner Kim Channick. Other lead counsel includes partners Joel Rhine and Martin Ramey of Rhine Law Firm, and Nick Horattas of DiCello Levitt. More details about the firms and lawyers are below.

A Formidable Legal Team

Four law firms filed Sunday's lawsuits, and the litigation teams are composed of deeply committed trial lawyers who will fight tenaciously to seek justice on behalf of the victims of Maryland's juvenile detention centers.

The Bailey & Glasser, LLP litigation team is composed of partners Sharon F. Iskra, David L. Selby II, D. Todd Mathews, founding partner Brian A. Glasser, and Cary Joshi. Ms. Iskra is the practice lead of the Institutional Abuse & Neglect team, Mr. Glasser is one of the firm's founding partners, Mr. Selby is the Practice Group Leader of the firm's Mass Torts Practice Group, Ms. Mathews is a partner in the Mass Torts Group, and Ms. Joshi is the Practice Group Leader of the firm's Commercial and Environmental Practice Group. For more information about the firm, please visit www.BaileyGlasser.com.
The Walsh Law PLLC legal team is comprised of founding partner Alexandra Walsh, Kim Channick, and Sam Martin. For more information about the firm please visit: https://alexwalshlaw.com/
The Rhine Law Firm team is led by name partner Joel Rhine and partner Martin Ramey. For more information about the firm, please visit: https://www.carolinaaccidentattorneys.com/
The DiCello Levitt litigation team is led by lawyers Nick Horattas, Mark DiCello, and Justin Abbarno. For information more about the firm please visit: https://dicellolevitt.com/