Ex-youth center worker testifies that top bosses would never take kids’ word over staff

By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press

BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — Jurors deciding whether to hold the state of New Hampshire accountable for alleged abuse at a youth detention center are hearing about how staff and administrators handled complaints. Virgil Bossom oversaw staff training and investigations at the Youth Development Center facility in the 1990s. He testified Monday that top administrators would never take a child’s word over a staffer’s, and that lower-level staff sought to punish kids for speaking up. But he also acknowledged he never raised concerns specifically about the plaintiff in the case, a former resident who says he was brutally beaten and raped. He also said he never raised concerns about a wider culture of abuse. Eleven former state workers face criminal charges, and more than 1,100 former residents have sued the state.