This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Retired Concord Circuit Court Judge Gerard Boyle has been nominated to be the next settlement fund administrator for claims of abuse at New Hampshire’s former youth detention center.
Boyle, who lives in Campton, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and spent 21 years as a trial judge. He presided over the Concord Circuit Court from 2005 to 2016 and the Merrimack County Teen Court for 13 years before that, where he worked with teens and families to rehabilitate first-time offenders.
He’s also active with the youth program Scouting America, formerly named Boy Scouts of America.
If the Executive Council votes to confirm him, Boyle will fill the role vacated last July by former Supreme Court justice John Broderick.
Attorney General John Formella submitted Boyle for Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s consideration last week. He said he’s received no opposition from the lawyers of YDC victims.
“Judge Boyle’s wide range of experience and longstanding commitment to adjudicating cases fairly and impartially will serve the YDC claims process well, and I fully support his nomination,” Formella wrote.
The settlement fund was established in 2022 to assess accusations of sexual and other abuse that occurred over several decades at the John H. Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester.
The administrator, who’s tasked with vetting those claims and awarding financial restitution when they’re found credible, was initially created to be selected by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Now, the person who fills the role will serve at the pleasure of the governor. It’s one of several changes to the law made by Ayotte and the Legislature last year that gave the governor and attorney general overarching control over how much money is awarded to victims.
Mark Knights, an attorney with Nixon Peabody who represents survivors of the New Hampshire Youth Development Center, said the “governor and legislature gutted the YDC Settlement Fund,” leaving thousands of claims in limbo and no clear path for the state to fulfill its existing commitments.
“These are structural failures no single appointment can fix, but we are hopeful Judge Boyle will bring independence and fairness to a process that has been badly undermined by political interference,” said Knights in a statement. “The survivors we represent have waited decades for justice, and we will judge this appointment by whether it moves them closer to the resolution they were promised.”
These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
