Judge quickly denies request to discard $38 million verdict in New Hampshire youth center abuse case

By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The judge has refused to discard a $38 million verdict in the landmark trial about physical and sexual abuse at New Hampshire’s youth detention center. The judge said the facility’s leadership “either knew and didn’t care, or didn’t care to learn the truth.” A jury earlier this month sided with David Meehan, who alleged he was repeatedly raped, beaten and held in solitary confinement at the Youth Development Center in the 1990s. The attorney general’s office is seeking to drastically reduce the award. But while that issue remains unsettled, it also asked Judge Andrew Schulman to nullify the verdict and issue a judgment in its favor. He quickly denied that motion Tuesday.