BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — A former teacher at New Hampshire’s youth detention center testified Monday that she reported suspicious bruises on at least half a dozen teenage boys in the 1990s, including the former resident who filed a landmark lawsuit against the state.
Brenda Wouters, who taught social studies at the Sununu Youth Services Center for 35 years, was the final witness called by David Meehan, who is seeking to hold the state accountable for physical, sexual and emotional abuse he says he suffered as a teen. Since he went to police in 2017, 11 former state workers have been arrested, and more than 1,100 former residents of the Manchester facility have filed lawsuits alleging six decades of abuse.
Wouters, who retired in 2022, said during the civil trial that she remembered Meehan growing sullen and withdrawn during his three years at what was then called the Youth Development Center. He had a black eye twice, she said. Another time, she asked him to lift up his shirt after she caught a glimpse of bruising and saw a “rainbow” of bruises along his torso.
What to expect in the California 20th District special election
Online mini dramas making major headway
Industrial chain sharpens China's edge
Sceientific exploration well first to break 10,000
UN maritime tribunal says countries are legally required to reduce greenhouse gas pollution
Fujian Jinhua 'not guilty' in Micron case
More efforts needed to boost homegrown jet
Guardians ruin Francisco Lindor's Cleveland homecoming, trip Mets 3
China Energy's massive hydropower station to open in March 2024