By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
When Olivia was 12, she jumped out a window of the two-story New Boston home where she was held prisoner. The injured runaway managed to get as far as the local Fire Department where she was turned over to police, her lawyer told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The officers then drove Olivia back to the home of her tormentors, Thomas and Denise Atkocaitis, reprimanded the child for running away, and then resumed their duties for the citizens of New Boston, according to her attorney Michael Lewis.
But that 2015 incident isn’t the worst alleged lapse the New Boston Police Department committed, allowing Olivia’s abuse to continue for years.
Olivia Griffin, formerly Olivia Atkocaitis, is fighting to hold the town of New Boston and seven New Boston Police officers responsible for not doing enough to protect her. She is now 23 years old.
She’s appealing Merrimack Superior Court Judge John Kissinger’s order to dismiss the case against New Boston police.
Griffin’s attorney Lewis argued the police who failed to protect Olivia Griffin should be held accountable. When it comes to child abuse, New Hampshire law is clear what police officers are supposed to do, Lewis said.
“Whenever any peace officer has probable cause to believe that a person has been abused, as defined in [the law] the officer shall use all means within reason to prevent further abuse,” Lewis said.
New Boston knew in 2011 that the child was being locked up in a basement dungeon, they took pictures of the space. At the time, the officers reported Olivia’s abuse to the Division for Children, Youth and Families. Then they stopped worrying about her, according to court records.
Olivia was born in China and adopted by the Atkocaitises when she was about a year and a half, according to court records. Her adopted parents soon turned her into a literal slave, forcing her to engage in farm labor, withholding food, throwing her down stairs, locking her in the basement cell, and tying her up with a dog leash, according to court records.
Police in New Boston had multiple interactions with the Atkocaitis family, and knew that there was violence occurring in the home, as far back as 2007, according to court records. Instead of interviewing the other children in the house, instead of taking the abused child out of the dungeon, New Boston Police didn’t do anything. They didn’t file a report with DCYF after the 2015 runaway incident.
Olivia escaped one last time in 2018. She dug a hole through the drywall surrounding her basement cell and got away from the Atkocaitises for good. This time, the couple was charged for their treatment of Olivia. But, according to Lewis, the officers never did a full investigation, and they never interviewed Olivia’s adopted siblings, all of whom witnessed the abuse and were eager to tell their stories.
The criminal case, based largely on the New Boston investigation, ended with no jail time for Denise Atkocaitis. She pleaded guilty to a felony and had to give up her guns. Thomas Atkocaitis pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and served six months. The couple now live free.
New Boston Police is not the only organization that failed Olivia. The Department of Health and Human Services knew that Denise Atkocaitis, a licensed elder care contractor, was abusive toward her clients. The 2011 DCYF investigation fizzled out without helping any of the children being reportedly abused in the Atkocaitis home.
Attorney Brian Cullen represented the town and seven police officers during oral arguments Tuesday. He and Lewis were both questioned by the justices.
As to the state-created danger doctrine, Cullen told the justices there had to be an affirmative act, calling it a big issue for the plaintiff.
“How is bringing Olivia back in 2015 not an affirmative act,” Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald asked Cullen.
Cullen cited two cases, one that asked if the person was worse off than before.
MacDonald said: “She’s just run away. She’s going to be worse off than she was before.”
Cullen said: “That’s not what the U.S. Supreme Court said” in another case.
Lewis, speaking to InDepthNH.org after the hearing, said the way New Boston Police, DCYF, and others in positions of authority failed Olivia her whole life is simply how the system functions.
“No one should be surprised when an institutional actor is involved in violence against children,” Lewis said. “I’m a former prosecutor, and I had to recognize that my basic assumptions were wrong.”
The state entered into a settlement with Olivia. Records show DCYF paid her $800,000 to resolve their end of the case.
“My goal was to get people to take responsibility early, and I accomplished that with everyone except the police,” Lewis said.
Kissinger awarded Olivia a $29 million settlement from her adopted parents, but that cash is unlikely to ever become a reality.
“It’s the only marker of justice we’ve got from the courts,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the judgment will help protect Olivia from legal reprisals, at best.
It’s now up to Chief Justice MacDonald, and Associate Justices Patrick Donovan and Melissa Countway to decide if the New Boston Police can be held accountable. Both Associate Justice Dan Will and Associate Justice Bryan Gould were disqualified from hearing arguments on Tuesday. There is no documented reason for the disqualification on file.