Federal lawsuit claims abuse, denial of treatment at Maine youth detention center
The lawsuit is the latest alleging mistreatment at what is now the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.
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A Maine man has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Department of Corrections and more than a dozen individuals alleging abuse and “deliberate denial” of treatment while he was confined in the state’s youth detention center.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court this week, the plaintiff claims he was subjected to excessive isolation, restraint and force as well as sexual assault over a span of six years while intermittently held at the Maine Youth Center in South Portland. He also alleges he was deliberately denied “adequate rehabilitative treatment” for his severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and denied “his right to an appropriate education.”
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Changes coming to Maine s juvenile justice system
Rep. Charlotte Warren of the Criminal Justice Committee says she feels that the facility is costing Mainers too much money. Author: Don Carrigan Updated: 9:34 PM EST March 2, 2021
AUGUSTA, Maine Maine’s Corrections Commissioner Randy Liberty is working to stop doing what many Mainers seem to think should not be done anymore: locking up young people who commit serious crimes.
Liberty is leading the department’s effort to further reduce the number of juveniles being held at the Long Creek Youth Development Center, the state’s prison facility for those under 18. They have clearly been making progress the facility, designed to hold 250 people, was holding just 27 as of Monday.
The measure would also eliminate the minimum stay for youths committed to the state's only youth detention center, and would commit no one younger than age 14.
Lawmakers consider bill to prohibit prosecuting anyone younger than 12
The measure would also eliminate the minimum stay for youths committed to the state s only youth detention center, and would commit no one younger than age 14.
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In 2019, 16 children under the age of 12 were charged with a crime in Maine, three of them younger than 10. In 2020, eight children under 12 faced criminal charges. While some were serious crimes such as arson, most would be misdemeanors for adults, such as assault or theft.
Legislators are considering a proposal that would bring those numbers to zero by setting the minimum age of criminal prosecution at 12 years old. As of last year, Maine would be one of only three states to do so, according to data from the National Juvenile Defender Center.