Attorneys for David Meehan and the state of New Hampshire delivered sharply different messages to the jury Thursday in the closely-watched civil trial over whether the state enabled child abuse at the former Youth Detention Center in Manchester.
“There was no widespread culture of abuse,” said attorney Martha Gaythwaite, arguing on behalf of the state. “This was not the den of iniquity that has been portrayed,”
“It’s a state that didn’t get it in the 1990s,” said David Vicinanzo, one of Meehan's attorneys. “They still don’t get it. They don’t understand the power they have. They don’t understand how they’ve abused their power. And they don’t care.”
The weeks-long trial in Rockingham Superior Court featured testimony from former YDC staff and residents, medical experts on the effects of PTSD and bipolar disorder, and testimony from Meehan himself.
Meehan’s lawsuit accuses the state of enabling rampant physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of children detained at YDC in the 1990s.
The landmark civil trial is the first of more than a thousand similar lawsuits filed since 2020 alleging abuse at YDC and other youth facilities that contracted with the state.
At stake is up to hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and the first official finding on whether the Department of Health and Human Services bears responsibility for what has become the largest known child abuse scandal in state history.
The verdict could also be a bellwether for the hundreds of similar cases still pending.
‘Conspiracy theories are not evidence’
Gaythwaite, who delivered the closing argument on behalf of the state, told the jury to focus on evidence and not innuendo.
“Conspiracy theories are not a substitute for actual evidence. There is no actual evidence that anyone ever reported to my client, the leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services, any allegation concerning Mr. Meehan that was not investigated,” she said. “So, there’s no evidence that my client breached any duty to Mr. Meehan.”
Gaythwaite said the jurors should focus on records from the 1990s that do not align with certain details of Meehan’s account and that they should not believe suggestions of widespread coverup of abuse by YDC staff.
“Are you really supposed to believe that the residence staff, the nursing staff, the communications staff, all got together and coordinated their falsification of records to cover up a crime?” asked Gaythwaite.
“Are you really supposed to believe they could pull it off? I hope my client doesn’t get mad at me for saying this, but do you know any governmental agency anywhere that could be that efficient and that organized?”
Gaythwaite added, “This doesn’t make sense.”
She also focused the jury on another key part of the state’s defense: that Meehan’s lawsuit came well after a three-year statute of limitations to sue state agencies.
“Folks, just two weeks ago, in this courtroom, he said he’d been waiting 25 years to tell his story,” said Gaythwaite. “He filed his lawsuit too late.”
If the jury does find the alleged abuse occurred, Gaythwaite told them they should hold the individuals who actually carried it out liable. In separate proceedings, the state has criminally charged 11 former YDC staff, several of whom are accused of abuse by Meehan in his civil lawsuit.
“You can send a clear message that those individuals should be held responsible,” said Gaythwaite, adding, “You should apportion zero liability to my client.”
‘The state is 100% liable’
Vicinanzo, who showed emotion at some points throughout his closing argument, took issue with the state’s argument that it has no responsibility whatsoever for the abuse Meehan alleges.
“The denial, the entitlement of our state government that that reflects, of our state bureaucrats, is unbelievable — and it’s hard to accept.
“They dare to say, ‘Oh, not our fault.’ It’s like hiring wolves and putting them in the cottages,” Vicinanzo said, referring to the term used for the facilities where detained children at YDC were housed.
“Don’t even put a collar on them or a leash, and then when the kids get mauled, ‘Don’t look at us! They’re just our cottages. They’re our wolves, it’s our facility.’
“The state is 100% liable,” he added.
Among the evidence Vicinanzo pointed to was a lack of training at YDC on sexual abuse of children.
“There’s no training on this. No training on how to discern signs or red flags of sexual abuse. No training on how to prevent it. No training on how to create an environment where people are eyes and ears looking out for the safety of kids. I mean, this is a kids’ facility.”
He also recalled the testimony of former YDC staff who testified during the trial that the then-superintendent, Ron Adams, said he would never believe children at the facility over staff.
“Worst of all,” said Vicinanzo, “is that the staff came to know this.
“They knew that they would always be believed over a kid, which meant that they’d become immune.”
Vicinanzo argued leadership at YDC and DHHS granted staff that immunity.
“Are you proud of your state government after this month’s testimony?” Vicinanzo asked.
“You’re the conscience of the community,” Vicinanzo told the jurors, adding they could begin to “restore the terrible wound that the state of New Hampshire inflicted on us.”
“They did it to our kids and they did it to this kid,” said Vicinanzo, pointing at Meehan.
Vicinanzo asked the jury to award $1 million per alleged rape. He said a conservative estimate is that Meehan was raped 200 times by state employees.
The jury will begin deliberating on Friday.
