Closing arguments made in YDC civil trial
May 2—The lawyer for a former resident of the Youth Development Center who filed a lawsuit alleging abuse says the state failed miserably in protecting children from emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the center in the 1990s.
"They don't understand the power they had, they don't understand how they abused their power, and they don't care," attorney David Vicinanzo told a jury of eight men and seven women during his closing argument at Rockingham County Superior Court Thursday afternoon. The jury was whittled down to 12 for deliberation.
Vicinanzo represents former YDC resident David Meehan, who filed the suit in 2020. Attorneys for the state argued that was after the three-year statute of limitations had lapsed. Meehan's suit has sparked more than 1,000 similar lawsuits by former residents of the juvenile detention center.
Meehan testified over three days of the trial, which began April 9.
Vicinanzo said Meehan was raped, beaten hundreds of times and held in solitary confinement for long periods of time between 1997 and 1998.
The cost of his treatments and lost employment could amount to upward of $200 million — $1 million for each rape, Vicinanzo said.
Martha Gaythwaite, an attorney representing the Department of Health and Human Services, said during her hour-and-15-minute closing argument that Meehan's case was based on conjecture, speculation and innuendo.
"There was no culture of widespread abuse," she said. "This was not the den of iniquity that has been portrayed."
During opening statements, the state blamed "rogue" employees for what happened. Gayth-waite said there was nothing negligent in its hiring practices or training.
"It is true, folks, that none of the training that the staff had was entitled, 'Do not rape or brutalize someone,'" she said. "We admit that, but I submit that you do not need to be trained on that."
She said employees were trained to report or call police if they saw abuse or had a suspicion of it.
Vicinanzo, who spoke for nearly two hours, said the staff members lacked experience and training to catch such red flags. The center operated under a code of silence, he said.
"The state is 100% liable here," he said. "Do not be misled."
With the jury out of the courtroom, Gaythwaite told Judge Andrew Schulman she was "quite upset" with several aspects of the plaintiff's closing, including Vicinanzo repeating the words of one witness who said a supervisor told him when he started that "If any one of these kids give you s---, beat the f--- out of them."
No evidence
Gaythwaite said there was no evidence the supervisor took that approach.
"It is too bad he said it," Vicinanzo fought back. "He said it in a juvenile facility."
Meehan arrived at YDC with prior troubles, including drug use and legal challenges, Gaythwaite said.
Meehan was involved in an incident where a worker was held hostage with a screwdriver during an escape attempt, Gaythwaite said.
"The plaintiff wants you to forget that he was disciplined for what he had done," she said. "He had broken the safety rules."
The state called into question the plaintiff's expert witnesses, saying one of them was more an advocate than a finder of facts. Gaythwaite asked the jury to weigh that against testimony of Harrison Pope, who was the last witness to take the stand on Wednesday.
Pope testified that Meehan has symptoms of bipolar disorder and could live a meaningful life.
Vicinanzo mentioned multiple diagnoses of PTSD caused by trauma at the center.
Gaythwaite questioned Meehan's testimony on an incident where he said he was abused so badly he blacked out and was brought out to the lawn to make it look like he had been injured playing touch football.
"Mr. Meehan claims he has a clear memory of what happened that day," she said. "However, the fact that somebody believes something doesn't mean it is true."
The logs and other accounts from the day show he was playing football with 10 other boys, which would make it difficult to coordinate a cover-up, she said.
Vicinanzo said the note was written by an employee who was investigated for severely beating a child and was recommended for termination by an ombudsman. Management instead promoted him, according to the testimony.
The jury also will have to decide whether the plaintiff's or state's interpretations of the statute of limitations should apply.
