A lawsuit recently filed against Cumberland County in Superior Court alleges sexual abuse of minors at the county’s juvenile detention center decades ago.
The lawsuit is on behalf of four boys held at different times at the center and who are now adults. These alleged incidents took place between approximately 1986-2005.
“While Plaintiffs were minors in Defendants custody at CCJDC, they were subjected to sexual abuse, including inappropriate touching, coercive sexual contact, and sexual assault by various CCJDC staff members employed by or acting under Defendant’s authority,” the lawsuit stated.
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Attorney Corey Briskin said in the filing that the Cumberland center operated for decades without “adequate” procedures to report abuse. Plaintiffs at the time were either afraid to report what was happening or believed that they would not be taken seriously, the lawsuit stated.
The New York law firm Levy Konigsberg is representing the four former center inmates.
The firm last year also filed separate similar lawsuits in 2025 against Passaic, Mercer, and Hudson counties for alleged abuses at their detention sites. Among the four lawsuits, nine men and two women are plaintiffs.
Cumberland County Court House in Bridgeton. PHOTO: Feb. 14, 2024.
The filings are permitted under the Child Sexual Abuse Act that New Jersey adopted in 2019. The law changed statute of limitations restrictions to favor young plaintiffs.
Cumberland County officials were asked on Friday about the lawsuit, but did not immediately comment.
The complaint identifies the former detainees as follows.
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A 38-year-old county resident identified as R.S. was at the center between 2002-2005. He was 16 and 17 years old at the time. R.S. alleged that a corrections officer started groping him when he was assigned alone to cleaning details and threatened to kill him if he reported the abuse.
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A 51-year-old Florida resident identified as E.M. was at the center around 1989 at ages 15 and 16. He alleged that a youth counselor sexually abused him.
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A 46-year-old Camden County resident identified as R.B. was at the center in the early 1990s when he was approximately 12. He claimed multiple officers and an art teacher abused him.
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A 53-year-old county resident identified as E.S. was at the center in the mid-1980s when he was 15 or 16. He alleged that an officer abused him.
The lawsuit includes the names of some alleged abusers and only descriptions of others.
The lawsuit demands damages, both compensatory and punitive, for injuries, as well as reimbursement of legal fees and court costs. The lawsuit states that each plaintiff’s claims exceed $20,000.
The county so far has not filed an answer with the court. The lawsuit, which was filed Nov. 25, seeks a jury trial.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Center lawsuit claims teen abuse