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Image courtesy of New Jersey Youth Justice Commission, New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.
Thirty more people have filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually abused as minors in New Jersey youth detention facilities, adding to a growing wave of claims that could ultimately cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars, New Jersey Monitor reported.
The latest lawsuits accuse the state of failing to properly hire, train and supervise staff across juvenile justice facilities over several decades.
The claims involve alleged abuse from the 1980s through the 2010s and include accusations of coercive sexual contact, rape and abusive strip searches. Some plaintiffs also allege that staff offered cigarettes, drugs, alcohol or special privileges in exchange for sexual acts.
Most New Claims Involve the New Jersey Training School
Most of the latest lawsuits involve the New Jersey Training School in Monroe, the state’s largest and oldest juvenile detention facility.
The school remains open despite years of discussion about closing it.
The new cases also include claims involving smaller residential facilities and the Female Secure Care & Intake Facility in Bordentown.
The lawsuits allege that abuse sometimes occurred in plain view of other staff members who failed to intervene or report what they witnessed.
Lawsuits Have Been Filed Since New Jersey Changed Its Law
The new complaints come after New Jersey expanded its statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims in 2019, giving more survivors additional time to bring civil lawsuits.
Since then, nearly 500 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children in state custody have been filed.
More than 300 of those cases involve the juvenile justice system, while the remainder involve youth placed in psychiatric and developmental centers.
That total does not include separate sexual abuse claims involving foster care placements.
State Could Face More Than $500 Million in Liability
New Jersey budget documents show that the state has already paid millions of dollars to resolve sexual abuse lawsuits involving people who were in state custody as children.
As of March 2026, the median settlement was about $975,000.
If settlements continue at similar levels across hundreds of pending cases, the state’s total liability could exceed $500 million.
The growing number of claims also suggests that additional lawsuits may still be filed as more survivors come forward.
Federal Reports Previously Flagged Abuse at New Jersey Training School
Concerns about sexual abuse at the New Jersey Training School are not new.
A 2010 federal report identified the facility as one of the nation’s worst juvenile institutions for staff sexual misconduct and use of force. In that survey, as many as 35% of boys reported sexual victimization by staff.
A follow-up federal study in 2012 found that reported abuse had declined but had not disappeared, with up to 15% of surveyed boys still reporting sexual victimization by staff.
Those findings add historical context to the current lawsuits, many of which allege that abuse continued for years because of inadequate supervision and institutional failures.
Counties May Face Growing Liability Too
Not all of the pending lawsuits involve state-run facilities.
More than 100 claims involve county juvenile detention centers, raising the possibility of significant liability for local governments as well.
The expanding litigation reflects a broader pattern seen in other states, where survivors are challenging not only the conduct of individual employees but also the institutions that allegedly failed to protect children in custody.
Related Coverage:
Three New Jersey School Districts Pay $1.5 Million to Settle Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Against Same Educator
Survivor of New Jersey School Sexual Abuse Awarded $30 Million By Jury
Teacher’s Family Allegedly Knew of Sexual Abuse at New Jersey High School, Lawsuit Says
N.J. School District Pays $650,000 to Settle Case Over Alleged Sexual Assault of Student
Cherry Hill School District (NJ) Faces 17 Lawsuits Alleging Failure to Protect Students From Teacher’s Sexual Abuse
New Jersey to Pay $19.5M to Two Siblings Abused in Foster Care
