The jury awards $38 million to the first YDC victim, the largest in New Hampshire history

David Meehan, 42, is pictured in Rockingham Superior Court in Brentwood during his civil lawsuit against the NH Department of Health and Human Services for his treatment while incarcerated as a teenager at the Youth Development Center (YDC) in Manchester.

BRENTWOOD, NH – The Rockingham Superior Court jury holds the state of New Hampshire accountable for the rape, abuse and cruelty suffered by David Meehan as a child and awards him $38 million in damages, representing the largest amount ever awarded was awarded in a contested lawsuit. civil liability lawsuit in the history of the state.

The Attorney General’s Office immediately issued a press release stating that it would pay only $475,000.

The jury deliberated for most of Friday morning before reaching a verdict in the early afternoon, finding the state liable for the culture of abuse, corruption and cover-up at the Sununu Youth Services Centre, then called YDC, in Manchester.

Meehan received $18 million in compensatory damages for his pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. He also awarded $20 million in damages because the jury found the state engaged in “willful, malicious and oppressive conduct” by abusing its power to authorize sexual violence, excessive solitary confinement and physical abuse.

“David Meehan is a hero in New Hampshire history for having the courage to tell the truth about the state’s grotesque abuse of him as a child. He spoke the truth to those in power, and the jury sent a strong message affirming his damages and condemning the state’s wanton, malicious and oppressive conduct,” said his attorneys Rus Rilee and David Vicinanzo, former first assistant attorney for the US, in a statement released shortly afterwards. the verdict was announced.

But the New Hampshire attorney general’s office claimed Friday that the state will not pay. According to a statement, state law limits the award to $475,000.

“The New Hampshire Department of Justice respects the jury’s decision. The jury awarded damages of $38 million, but found that Mr Meehan had proven that only one incident had occurred. State law, RSA 541-B:14, I, provides that any plaintiff who files a lawsuit against the state can only recover a maximum of $475,000 per incident. Therefore, today’s jury verdict will result in a $475,000 award for Mr. Meehan,” the New Hampshire Department of Justice statement said.

But Vicinanzo said the state’s position is false, and that the DOJ is simply trying to appeal to escape responsibility.

“The state is trying to create a technical loophole for an appeal, but that will fail, as will all their other excuses to allow the assault and rape of David Meehan. The state’s conduct in this child abuse case was a crime when it happened and remains shameful today, an embarrassment to the people of New Hampshire who expect better from our public officials,” Vicinanzo said.

The jury heard weeks of testimony about Meehan’s horrific time at YDC in the 1990s. He was raped at least two hundred times, beaten almost as often as raped, and subjected to weeks of solitary confinement that essentially served as another form of torture. Then, a significant number of employees and administration at YDC looked the other way or helped cover up the abuse, the testimony shows.

With Meehan’s victory, the state now faces a potentially ruinous 1,000 additional civil lawsuits filed by other men and women who allege they were physically and sexually abused while in state custody as children.

The New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence applauded the jury’s decision.

“May this $38 million verdict send a message to every child predator and every institution that enabled them. This verdict is a bold and emphatic statement that children deserve to be heard and believed. We commend David Meehan for speaking the truth, and we are grateful to him and all the victims who have come forward to demand justice and systemic change,” said Public Affairs Director Amanda Grady Sexton.

https://indepthenh.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/jury-form.pdf

From the jury form provided by the court in the case of David Meehan v. NH Department of Health and Human Services

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.