InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/tag/david-vicinanzo/page/2/)
The lead survivor in the civil lawsuit against the state for physical, sexual and emotional abuse he and hundreds of others suffered as children in state custody spoke out as part of a second letter to Attorney General John Formella this week criticizing the proposed process for compensating victims.
A new complaint in the lawsuit against YDC contains horrific allegations backed by a former guard saying staff encouraged one resident to kill himself by slipping razor blades under his door, orchestrated a campaign that led to him being raped and then recruited older residents to rape the former guard who is now speaking out.
One of the lawsuits filed against the state and contractors that provide juvenile services raises questions about the leadership of Mount Prospect Academy in Plymouth where some of the 700 people suing the state say they were abused as children in state custody.
As a child, he endured more horrific abuse than most people could bear, according to his civil lawsuit – one of hundreds against the state and its contractors for decades-long mistreatment of children in state custody.
Merrimack Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman has cleared the way for hundreds of Sununu Youth Services Center abuse survivors to sue the state over the horrific abuse and decades of coverup by state leaders.
“Rather than forcing victims to choose either accepting a low-ball settlement or pursuing justice through litigation, the process should focus on providing the victims with a true measure of justice outside of litigation that provides just compensation for the grievous harms suffered at the hands of state actors,” Attorneys Rus Rilee and David Vicinanzo, who represent the victims, wrote to Formella.
The men and women suing the state claiming they were sexually and physically abused while incarcerated at the Youth Development Center in Manchester as minors have asked the court to allow their cases to go forward.
A $100 million settlement fund to compensate children who were sexually and physically abused while incarcerated by the state moved one step closer to passage Tuesday, but counsel to the 500 plus victims opposes it.