By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Rep. Ken Weyler, chairman of the House Finance Committee, said he won’t recuse himself from matters pertaining to the YDC settlement fund after House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson and some Republicans criticized him for derogatory remarks he made about YDC victims last week at a House Finance Division 1 hearing.
Weyler, R-Kingston, mocked victims saying they are just looking for a big payday during the hearing last Wednesday.
“We can’t break the budget with this ridiculousness for people who haven’t obeyed the rules and oh you’re rewarded, rewarded for what, a misspent life? It just doesn’t make sense to me that someone who got abused, abused others and abused themselves should be rewarded and that’s the way it looks and someone on the streets says, ‘YDC, I’ll just say they abused me and I’ll become a millionaire.’ This is the example were setting,” Weyler said at the hearing.
Simpson, D-Exeter, sent a letter to House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, Friday saying Weyler should be recused from any matters involving the YDC settlement process. More than 1,000 adults have claimed they were sexually and physically abused as children by state employees when they were incarcerated at the Sununu Youth Services Center, formerly called the Youth Development Center or YDC in Manchester.
The state settlement fund, which was set up by the Legislature to compensate YDC victims who do not file civil lawsuits in court against the state, has already settled cases for $127 million and 606 claims have not been resolved. A total of 874 claims have been filed since the fund was set up in 2023. More claims are expected to be filed in the coming months because the deadline is June 30.
“Through his public comments, Chair Weyler has repeatedly shown that he is incapable of approaching the YDC settlement process in the trauma-informed, victim-centered way that the statute requires and that the victims deserve,” Simpson said in the letter to Packard.
“To ensure that victims are not needlessly re-victimized by engaging in the settlement process, Representative Weyler needs to recuse himself from Chairing the Finance and Fiscal Committees when subject matter related to the YDC settlement process is before them,” Simpson told Packard.
Rep. Katelyn Kuttab, R-Windham said on Twitter: “Victims who have suffered or are alleged to have suffered child sexual abuse should never be subject to such inappropriate comments from those tasked with ensuring they receive the justice and closure they deserve.”
Speaker Packard didn’t respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Weyler said Monday night when reached by phone that he is not going to recuse himself from YDC settlement fund matters and stood by his comments, explaining that throwing money at this won’t solve the problem.
Weyler said he will likely have more questions about the YDC settlement process when the Finance Division 1 committee meets again Wednesday, this time with representatives of the Department of Justice at 3 p.m.
Weyler said he isn’t impressed with Simpson. “No,” he said about recusing himself. “I think (Simpson) should recuse herself from anything to do with anything,” Weyler said.
Weyler said he previously suggested that YDC victims take a lie detector test to prove they were victimized while incarcerated there.
“I would like to say first $50,000 or $100,000 be spent on getting” good psychiatric counseling for the victims, he said.
Weyler explained that he blamed victims for being incarcerated in the first place because they broke the law as juveniles, and they were being punished by being sent to YDC and faced further punishment there if they didn’t follow the rules with treatment such as solitary confinement.
“That certainly doesn’t entitle them to rape you,” Weyler said.
Throwing money at a problem never solves it, he said. “This is what this whole YDC thing is about…I called it a feeding frenzy for lawyers… They were abused by people decades ago and now want us to pay all kinds of money,” Weyler said.
Weyler was forced to step down in 2021 from chairing the House Finance Committee after public criticism for comments he made about COVID-19 vaccinations.
Weyler was criticized for emailing information to committee members, including “The Vaccine Death Report” that Democrats at the time said contained outrageous disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and bigoted anti-Catholic remarks.
Simpson said Weyler should have no oversight on the YDC settlement fund.
“Representative Weyler’s repeated comments about YDC abuse victims are beyond the pale and are re-traumatizing those who suffered abuse at the hands of the state. As Chair of the Finance and Fiscal committees, Rep. Weyler’s voice carries significant weight in the YDC settlement process.
“…Removing Weyler from YDC settlement oversight is the only way to respect the victims and I have relayed that request to the Speaker,” Simpson said.
