Ex-worker at New Hampshire youth detention center describes escalating retaliation for complaints

By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press

BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — A woman who worked at New Hampshire’s youth detention center three decades ago says supervisors and staff were dismissive at best and menacing at worst when she reported suspected abuse. Karen Lemoine was the first witness in the first trial seeking to hold the state accountable for the abuse of children at the Sununu Youth Services Center, a Manchester facility once called the Youth Development Center. Since the state launched an investigation in 2019, more than 1,100 residents have filed lawsuits alleging six decades of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and 11 former state workers have been arrested.