Federal Lawsuit Filed Over Abuse in Maryland Juvenile Detention Centers
MEDIA REQUESTS: To schedule an interview with counsel or for other media inquiries, please contact Joe Carey at joe@careystrategiccommunications.com, or partner D. Todd Mathews at tmathews@baileyglasser.com.
In the ongoing fight for justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, Bailey & Glasser, LLP, along with co-counsel from Levy Konigsberg LLP and Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley, have filed a new federal lawsuit on behalf of three individuals who were sexually abused as children while in Maryland youth detention centers.
The complaint alleges the survivors were sexually assaulted by staff at two separate Maryland juvenile facilities in 2019 and 2020 when they were just 14 and 15 years old, but they feared their sentences would be extended if they spoke out. The lawsuit further alleges that state officials were aware of a pervasive “culture of sexual brutalization and abuse” within Maryland’s juvenile system but willfully ignored it, resulting in violations of the plaintiffs’ civil rights.
This new lawsuit is part of a broader legal campaign by Bailey & Glasser, LLP and other law firms to hold the State of Maryland accountable for decades of sexual abuse within its juvenile facilities. Bailey Glasser, in partnership with nearly two dozen law firms, was among the first to file lawsuits under the Child Victims Act in 2023, representing more than 4,500 survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated by staff members at Maryland juvenile detention centers. The firm’s legal team on these cases includes mass torts partner D. Todd Mathews, founding partner Brian Glasser, Mass Torts Practice Group Leader David Selby II, Institutional Abuse & Neglect team leader Sharon Iskra, and attorneys Aliya Khalidi and Samira Bode.
In 2023, Maryland enacted of the Child Victims Act of 2023, which eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims in Maryland. This landmark law opened the door for survivors to seek justice, regardless of when the abuse occurred. However, thousands of individuals have filed cases against the state, creating a massive liability. Maryland has since taken steps to limit its financial exposure by reducing settlement caps and restricting claimants to a single payout, changes that have stalled thousands of cases in state court while they await settlement negotiations between plaintiffs’ counsel and the Maryland Attorney General.
By filing in federal court, these plaintiffs are seeking justice beyond the limitations imposed by the state’s newly revised settlement framework. Bailey Glasser remains committed to advocating for survivors and using all legal avenues to ensure the state is held accountable for the abuse suffered by children in its care.
Learn more about our work in this matter by visiting our Maryland Juvenile Hall Sexual Abuse page.
View the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland below.
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