New Hampshire settles youth center abuse case for $10 million

CONCORD, N.H. -- The New Hampshire attorney general's office has reached a $10 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by Michael Gilpatrick, who alleged he was gang-raped at the state's youth detention center in the 1990s. This settlement comes as the second of over 1,300 claims against the state, with both parties opting to avoid a trial that would have further exposed the traumatic details of the case.

Gilpatrick, now 41, was just 14 when he was placed in the Youth Development Center in 1997. His lawsuit alleged abuse by ten staff members, detailing horrific incidents of repeated rapes and physical violence that left lasting scars. In a past interview, he expressed the profound isolation and terror he experienced while at the facility, describing the impact that the abuse had on his life both during and after his time there.

In one of the assaults recounted by Gilpatrick, he described being restrained by staff while another assaulted him, leading to criminal charges for four individuals he referred to as a “hit squad.” Only two have been prosecuted, with one, Brad Asbury, receiving a significant prison sentence after being convicted. The remaining accused, Stephen Murphy, has faced a mistrial with further proceedings pending.

The settlement allows Gilpatrick to bypass what would likely have been another emotionally taxing court experience. It highlights the ongoing investigation into the facility where he suffered, which has resulted in multiple arrests and convictions of former staffers since the attorney general's inquiry began in 2019. While the youth center, named after former Gov. John H. Sununu, has historically housed many children, plans are in motion to replace it with a significantly smaller facility due to the declining number of residents.

Gilpatrick's case and others like it have drawn attention to the systemic failures within the youth detention system in New Hampshire. The agreement reached in this case, despite being less than a previous $38 million jury award in a separate but related trial, signifies a continued effort to provide support and restitution to victims of abuse within state institutions.