Baltimore Beat: Partner Todd Mathews Urges Probe into Widespread Abuse in Maryland Juvenile Centers

Bailey Glasser Mass Torts partner D. Todd Mathews was recently featured in a Baltimore Beat article underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive investigation into Maryland’s juvenile detention facilities and the systemic failures that led to 6,000 lawsuits against the state under the Child Victims Act. These lawsuits allege that individuals were sexually assaulted as juveniles by staff ranging from laundry attendants, kitchen aides, counselors, coaches, and even wardens in juvenile detention centers across the state. Mathews highlighted the state's failure to investigate these allegations with the same rigor applied to the Archdiocese of Baltimore cases, even though those lawsuits were ten times fewer.

“It’s telling that Maryland has not taken steps to investigate the scope of the abuse in its juvenile detention centers,” Mathews said. “I think that the state was mindful of their obligations in doing their Catholic Church investigation, and for human nature reasons, maybe, weren’t willing to admit they had a big problem in their own system,” he explained. 

Mathews emphasized the systemic nature of the abuse and the state's lack of accountability. The article notes that the children — some as young as 7 years old — could not escape the sexual abuse, which pervaded nearly every aspect of life in juvenile detention, according to the lawsuits. 

Mathews also noted that between 85% and 90% of the Department of Juvenile Services claimants are people of color, reflecting the populations historically sent to juvenile detention centers. He pointed out that many were placed in detention for relatively minor offenses, such as taking a family car for a joyride or running away from abusive homes.

In 2023, Bailey Glasser, alongside nearly two dozen firms, filed lawsuits on behalf of over 4,500 survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated by staff members at Maryland juvenile detention centers. In addition to Todd Mathews, the Bailey Glasser team consists of founding partner Brian Glasser, Mass Torts Practice Group Leader David Selby II, Institutional Abuse & Neglect team leader Sharon Iskra, and lawyers Aliya Khalidi and Samira Bode.

Learn more about our work in this matter by visiting our Maryland Juvenile Hall Sexual Abuse page. 

Read the full Baltimore Beat article here.