Consolidated youth center abuse lawsuits move forward

By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A judge has consolidated hundreds of lawsuits alleging physical and sexual abuse at New Hampshire’s youth detention center more than two years after the first case was filed. David Meehan sued the state in January 2020. Since then, about 450 men and women have filed lawsuits alleging abuse by 150 staffers over six decades. The litigation has largely been on hold since 11 former youth workers were arrested last year, but a judge last week ordered the cases to be consolidated. The lawyer representing most of the victims filed a master complaint Friday and intends to file about 700 individual complaints in the next 30 days.