The number of lawsuits alleging abuse at New Jersey child treatment centers reaches 150
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The number of lawsuits alleging sexual assaults and other abuse at state-run child treatment centers in New Jersey has risen to more than 100 after two more were filed this week.
Two suits involving 16 people were presented Thursday in Superior Court in Monmouth and Somerset counties by victims whose names have been withheld. They are seeking damages stemming from alleged abuse at the former Arthur Brisbane Treatment Center and the Training School at Skillman, both of which have been shuttered for decades.
The suits are the latest of dozens of claims filed against the state in the past year. Attorneys for the firm Levy Konigsberg say the total number of suits has now reached 150. The majority of the earlier cases revolve around open facilities, including the New Jersey Training School, which the governor has said would be closed.
The Associated Press left email messages seeking comment with the New Jersey attorney general’s office, which is responsible for defending the state when it’s named in lawsuits.
New Jersey overhauled its civil statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse claims in 2019.
The new law allows child victims to sue until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization that the abuse caused them harm. The previous statute of limitations was age 20 or two years after first realizing the abuse caused harm.
