Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Sexual Assault Lawsuit Investigation

The Philadelphia Inquirer and numerous other media sources have recently reported extensive claims of sexual assault at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, including allegations of rape and sexual abuse that date back several decades. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the complaints have been systematically ignored and/or suppressed by Devereux staff and management.

According to the Inquirer report, at least 41 children between the ages of 12 and 18 have been sexually assaulted by staff members at Devereux across facilities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, New York and Arizona, and at least 20 Devereux staff members have been charged with sexually assaulting children.

The Inquirer report highlights systemic mismanagement within the structure of Devereux itself, including understaffed campuses and under-supervised patients and staff members, all of which foster an environment that allows these assaults to continue to occur and position Devereux’s programs as “hunting grounds for predators.”

Chad Maloney, a former prosecutor who has brought numerous abuse cases against Devereaux is quoted in the Inquirer report about the company’s failure to adequately address systemic sexual abuse:

“[D]evereux doesn’t change. They don’t change how they hire, how they train, or how they supervise their staff or the children in their care. The victims change, the offenders change, but Devereux’s actions never do, and that’s why the abuse continues.”

In the face of these formidable odds, Devereux sexual abuse survivors are receiving compensation and their cases are gaining traction on a national level. For example, in November 2019, a jury awarded $55 million in damages to a woman who was sexually assaulted at the age of 15 in a Georgia Devereux Facility.

Many states have recently passed laws giving victims of sexual abuse more time to seek justice. These state-level changes have happened in the wake of widespread sexual abuse scandals from large organizations such as USA Gymnastics, UCLA and the Catholic Church.

The time to file a legal claim varies depending on your state- please contact our sexual abuse legal team for more information on your rights.

Gibbs Law Group is a California-based law firm committed to protecting the rights of clients nationwide who have been harmed by corporate misconduct. We represent individuals, whistleblowers, employees, and small businesses across the U.S. against the world’s largest corporations. Our award-winning lawyers have achieved landmark recoveries and over a billion dollars for our clients in high-stakes class action and individual cases involving consumer protection, data breach, digital privacy, and federal and California employment lawsuits. Our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Top Class Action Attorneys Under 40,” “Consumer Protection MVP,” “Best Lawyers in America,” and “Top Cybersecurity/ Privacy Attorneys Under 40.”