Children were abused, neglected at ‘house of horrors’ psychiatric facility, suit says
A 15-year-old boy in Alabama was sent to live at a psychiatric facility for two months in 2018 while he sought mental health treatment, according to court documents.
He was met with violence instead, his lawyers said.
Tevin Pike, now an adult, was placed by the Alabama Department of Youth Services at Sequel TSI of Tuskegee, where he and others reportedly experienced a “house of horrors” consisting of abuse and neglect by staff and fellow residents, his lawyers said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Jan. 26 in the Circuit Court of Macon County.
“What our client experienced at Sequel Tuskegee is heartbreaking and should never happen,” Tommy James, who is representing Pike, said in a news release. “He will forever suffer unimaginable consequences from his time there. Sequel must be held accountable for what they did to him and countless other children who were abused under their care.”
The suit names Sequel Tuskegee, Sequel TSI of Alabama, Sequel Youth and Family Services and others as defendants.
Representatives for Sequel and the Alabama Department of Youth Services did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Sequel Youth and Family Services, a for-profit company based in Huntsville, Alabama, markets itself as a “leading national behavioral health organization” with 39 treatment programs in 20 states. The Alabama Department of Youth Services contracts with its facility in Tuskegee.
Boys ages 12 to 18 can attend the psychiatric residential treatment facility outside of Montgomery for up to 120 days for “therapeutic intervention” that includes “positive peer culture practices,” according to Alabama’s DYS website.
The state pays Sequel Youth and Family Services about $330 per day, per child, the lawsuit states.
‘Treated like animals’
Sequel Tuskegee is set back from the road on Highway 29, about 45 miles west of Columbus, Georgia. A chain-link fence lines the property, and a white gate braced by two stout columns marks the entrance.
There is nothing but trees and farmland surrounding it. A simple white sign with blue diagonal letters spelling “Sequel” is the only marker identifying it as a treatment facility.
Pike was sent to Sequel Tuskegee at 15 years old, which his lawyers described as a “medium risk secure facility” with 66 beds — 50 of which are licensed by the Department of Youth Services.
Pike lived with boys who were 18 and 19 years old and “allowed to attack (him) nightly,” his lawyers said. The children were “treated like animals by staff” and the facility operated much like a prison — riots were frequent, rats run amok and contraband marijuana, cigarettes, alcohol and knives were smuggled in by staff, the lawsuit states.
One of the tactics reportedly used by staff included placing students in isolation, also known as “seg rooms,” with no furniture. Pike’s attorneys said he was placed in isolation on multiple occasions, once for a week.
“For two of those days, he was not provided with food or water, and he was not given access to a bathroom and was forced to urinate in the corner of the room,” the complaint states.
The staff is also accused of using “extreme, illegal and dangerous” restraints — including choke holds and “lying on top of children who are face down on the ground,” attorneys said. According to the lawsuit, the alleged mistreatment extended to emotional abuse with staff calling children names, threatening and taunting them.
“During Tevin’s time at Sequel Tuskegee, he was choked, beaten, punched, slapped and slammed to the ground by both Sequel Tuskegee employees and other residents,” his lawyers said. “Staff would pick him up by the throat until he passed out.”
Pike’s attorneys accused Sequel and its various entities of reckless conduct, negligent supervision and failing to provide a safe environment. They’re seeking compensatory and punitive damages as a result.
‘A culture of violence’
The allegations are not the first against Sequel. In September 2020, American Public Media Reports published the results of a year-long investigation exposing physical abuse, sexual assault and improper restraints at Sequel facilities across the U.S. — from Wichita, Kansas, to Kalamazoo, Michigan.
One child died at the treatment center in Kalamazoo, 16-year-old Cornelius Fredrick Jr., according to APM Reports. Frederick had reportedly been held down by eight adults for 12 minutes. “The medical examiner ruled it homicide by asphyxiation,” according to APM Reports.
Three months after APM Reports published its investigation, NBC News reported similar allegations against Sequel based on thousands of records from more than a dozen states and interviews with former residents and their families.
Sequel’s compliance director Marianne Birmingham told NBC they worked with officials in Alabama to improve conditions at their facilities in the state and that many of the allegations were unsubstantiated.
She reportedly visited two facilities in Alabama after NBC contacted her and came back with this assessment: “The kids were very happy.”
But James, Pike’s lawyer, said Sequel is part of a multi billion-dollar industry that abuses “trouble teens.”
“A culture of violence and abuse pervades throughout Sequel facilities across the country,” he said in the news release. “The level of abuse is staggering and very disturbing. My client lived in a house of horrors. No parent would ever want their child to spend even one hour in a Sequel facility.”
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