Fox News Flash top headlines for January 18
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- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has reaffirmed his commitment to closing the state's largest youth detention center.
- The state attorney general has promised a prompt investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by 50 men who were held at the center as boys.
- The lawsuit claims that from the 1970s to the 2010s, officers, counselors and staff at the New Jersey Training School in Monroe Township sexually assaulted boys under their authority.
New Jersey’s governor recommitted on Thursday to closing down the state's largest youth detention center, and the state attorney general vowed a prompt investigation after 50 men alleged they were sexually abused there while they were held as boys.
Attorney General Matt Platkin said hours after the lawsuit was filed Wednesday that the allegations would be "swiftly and thoroughly" investigated. The suit contends that from the 1970s to the 2010s, officers, counselors and other staff sexually assaulted boys under their authority at the New Jersey Training School in Monroe Township.
In a statement Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy's spokesperson, Tyler Jones, said the Democratic governor is "committed to the responsible closing" of the school, first announced nearly six years ago. The challenge is that the closure would require creating three additional facilities, one each in northern, central and southern New Jersey, and so far only two have been set up, the statement said.
NEW JERSEY GYM TEACHER ALLEGEDLY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER STUDENT OVER 4 YEARS
Among the lawsuit's allegations are that staff conducted illicit strip searches, carried out violent rapes, offered bribes to keep the victims silent and threatened punishment if the crimes were reported. Fifty men who were held at the facility as boys have joined the lawsuit.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy gives a speech at the West Side Yard on Jan. 31, 2023 in New York City. Murphy has recommitted to closing down New Jersey's largest youth detention center, and the state attorney general vowed an investigation after 50 men sued alleging they were sexually abused there.
"Protecting the youth in the care of the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) is a matter of the highest priority for our administration. We have zero tolerance for abuse of any kind in JJC facilities or in JJC-sponsored programs," Platkin said. His statement also said he would not comment on the lawsuit, but noted that the alleged conduct happened before Gov. Murphy’s administration.
Moshe Maimon, an attorney at Levy Kongisberg representing the plaintiffs, applauded the commitment to close the facility.
"But that is not enough," he said in an email. "The State — under his administration — should take responsibility for the decades of sexual abuse of children entrusted to its care and custody."
The facility has long been considered troubled. U.S. Justice Department reports alleged high rates of sexual abuse at the facility, and the state determined the facility should close in 2018. But efforts to set up replacements have stalled.
Platkin said that all staff, volunteers and interns at the state's Juvenile Justice Commission-run facilities must pass background checks, including an examination of any child abuse records. He added that the commission has implemented Prison Rape Elimination Act protocols that remain in effect. The act requires correctional facilities to have safeguards to protect people housed in prisons from being sexually attacked or abused.
Despite its name, the facility is not only a school but a campus with seven cottages and a vocational building run by the state’s Juvenile Justice Commission. It currently houses about 200 people, according to the state, and dates to 1867.
Most of the residents are 16–18 years old, though it houses people committed by courts from ages 12–23, according to the state.
The suit is possible in part because New Jersey now allows more adults to pursue childhood sex abuse claims. A similar law in New Hampshire enabled more than 1,000 men and women to raise allegations of abuse at a state detention center there.
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