Glen Mills Schools Abuse of Delinquent Children Class Action

The Glen Mills Schools is a residential school in Pennsylvania where a court may send a child who is judged to be “delinquent” or who is at risk for becoming delinquent. However, the complaint for this class action alleges that personnel at the school have assaulted, mistreated, and abused the children sent there. The complaint claims, “This abuse has occurred on a routine and systematic basis.”

The class for this action is all persons who have attended the Glen Mills Schools and who suffered physical abuse or are at risk of suffering physical abuse.

According to the complaint, the school is supposed to operate on a “‘Balanced and Restorative Justice’ (BARJ) philosophy which requires that ‘youth committing delinquent acts are provided with supervision, care, and rehabilitation … in a manner that is balanced to include (1) community protection, (2) personal and legal responsibility, and (3) competency development.’”

Instead of fulfilling these duties, the complaint says, it subjected the children in its care “to harmful and degrading physical and mental abuse, including the use of excessive and unreasonable physical force, and [failed] to protect them from harm and injuries at the hands of others.” It also failed to “properly train, supervise, and discipline” those who work for or at the school and did not protect the students from “assaults and abuse by fellow students at the School.”

The plaintiff in this case is named as “Mother Miller,” bringing suit on behalf of “Billy Miller and Charlie Jones.”

Billy claims to have experienced abuse including “frequent beatings, slamming against walls, and punching by staff and fellow residents.” He alleges that one night, when he was asleep in a top bunk, staff members pulled him off the bunk, “slamming him onto the floor, where they proceeded to jump on him and spit in his face.”

He claims he was unable to tell his mother about this because the school monitored his calls with her and would disconnect them if he tried to do this. They also told him they would “make it worse for him” if he told anyone about the abuse.

The complaint also describes numerous other incidents involving the abuse of other students.

Charlie Jones claimed that staff members once assaulted him for using a restroom at the wrong time and broke three of his ribs. On another occasion, he was beaten, denied medical attention, and told to say his injuries came from football practice.

On March 25, 2019, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services “ordered an emergency removal of all children still residing at the School.” For the remaining non-residential students, “the Office of Children, Youth and Families will maintain a presence at the School, ‘to monitor conditions and ensure student safety.’”

The counts include violations of the Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, negligence, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent supervision.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Civil Rights
Tags: Civil Rights, Constitutional Rights, Denigration Harassment Physical or Sexual Abuse, Violence