In 1984, an 11-year-old boy, now known in court documents as John Doe #441, said his adoptive father was regularly beating him with a two-by-four.
“I tried to have him arrested for abuse,” Doe #441 told NHPR. “I was pretty much mocked. And that’s when everything started.”
Doe #441 acted out. He ran away. He was labeled a “problem child.”
Eventually, he was sent to New Hampshire’s Youth Development Center, or “YDC” – the state’s jail for kids.
YDC’s stated mission was to nurture, protect, and educate Doe #441 – to change him for the betterment of society. In practice, he said YDC was a nightmare almost beyond imagining.
In a lawsuit against the state of New Hampshire, John Doe #441, claims staff at YDC regularly beat him, humiliated him and deprived him of basic dignities, and encouraged violence between residents as a tool for retaliation.
The list of examples goes on and on.
“They tortured me for years,” said John Doe #441, who is now 51. “I don't like to hate people, but there is so much hate in my life for these people.”
John Doe #441 is not alone.
Since 2020, almost 1,300 people have filed lawsuits alleging they were abused as children at New Hampshire’s juvenile jail and more than 50 privately-run facilities that contracted with the state to care for children.
The flood of claims have come alongside a separate criminal investigation by the state of New Hampshire that led to the arrests of 11 former state employees on charges of sexual assault. All have pleaded not guilty.
The allegations span from 1960 to as recently as 2021 – over 60 years. Many of the people bringing these claims forward have waited decades for their stories to be believed – and for accountability from the state. Most have filed suit under Jane or John Doe pseudonyms for fear of stigma and retaliation. They all claim the state failed to act to protect them.
But what exactly happened? How could child abuse of such scale and severity go ignored for so long?
To find out, we read and analyzed 1,281 lawsuits filed by people alleging abuse in state custody. Each one includes a specific account of the abuse each person says they were subjected to as a child.
Collectively, the documents represent the most complete history yet of alleged abuse at New Hampshire’s youth facilities – and they reveal the largest government scandal in New Hampshire, and one of the largest youth detention abuse cases in American history.