Three former youths housed at the KidsPeace residential treatment center say they were sexually abused by workers, according to a lawsuit.
The three are now adults but say they were abused when they were children in the facility on KidsPeace Drive in North Whitehall Township.
An attorney for KidsPeace didn’t immediately respond to request to comment for this story.
The first accuser is a 31-year-old man from Lewistown, Mifflin County. He claims a female staff member punished him at least three times by squeezing his genitals and forcing objects into his buttocks, according to the lawsuit. He alleges he was abused between 2005 and 2006 when he was 12 years old.
He identified his abuser by last name, her approximate age and her curly hair. He reported the abuse to another staff member but was advised that in a “high intensity situation, your brain can make up things,” the suit says.
The second accuser is a 29-year-old woman from Allentown. She says she was abused at least four times in early 2009 when she was 12 or 13, according to the lawsuit. She says her accuser fondled her genitals while she slept, and later groped her in the shower, in a hallway and in a kitchenette.
She said he threatened to hurt her if she reported the abuse. She identified her abuser by his first name, his age, his eye color and a distinctive piercing.
The third accuser is a 27-year-old man from Norristown. He claims in the lawsuit that a security guard grabbed him from behind, kissed his neck, sucked on his ear and then fondled his genitals in 2011, when he was about 14. He said he reported the abuse but no action was taken, the lawsuit says.
He doesn’t identify his alleged attacker by name, only saying he was short and stocky with a receding hairline.
The lawsuit doesn’t say whether the three reported their allegations to law enforcement. Their attorneys, Haley Ferise and Tobi Ann Russeck of Philadelphia, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said it’s unclear whether the allegations were reported to police. He’s been the district attorney since 2024.
There wasn’t a case management system in his office at the time of the allegations, and even if there were, it would be difficult to ascertain whether the incidents had been reported without more definitive identifying information, he said in an email Monday.
The lawsuit was filed in August. Kidspeace attorney Brian L. Watson filed court papers last week to have the case moved from Lehigh County Court to federal court. He says his request has standing because KidsPeace was previously involved in federal bankruptcy proceedings.
His lawsuit says KidsPeace failed in its duty to care for the children and failed to properly train and monitor its staff. The four-count lawsuit seeks unspecified damages over $50,000.
KidsPeace is a residential treatment center for children with behavioral and mental health needs, according to its website.
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