NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – Three people are alleging in a lawsuit that staff at a KidsPeace facility in Lehigh County sexually abused them when they were children.

The plaintiffs were sexually assaulted and physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by staff members of the KidsPeace in Orefield while in their legal and physical custody, according to a lawsuit filed against KidsPeace.

The facility is being sued by an Allentown woman, as well as a Lewistown man and a Norristown man.

KidsPeace harmed the three people by enabling the staff members and “fostering a culture of fear and unwarranted retribution,” the lawsuit said.

The first accuser, a 31-year-old man from Lewistown, was in custody of the Orefield facility when he was approximately 12-years-old and was sexually and physically abused by a female staff member on multiple occasions, the lawsuit says. 

He identifies the alleged abuser’s last name and approximate age at the time. He reported the multiple incidents of abuse to another staff member at the time, who dismissed him by saying that in a “high intensity situation, your brain can make up things,” according to the lawsuit. 

The second accuser, a 29-year-old Allentown woman, was approximately 12-13-years-old when she was living in the Orefield facility. She alleges that a male staff member sexually abused her on at least four separate occasions while she was a resident, the lawsuit says. 

She said the staff member threatened her by physically restraining her to prevent her from reporting the abuse, as well as attempting to bribe her by giving her special privileges, the paperwork says. 

The third accuser, a 27-year-old Norristown man, lived at the facility when he was approximately 14-years-old. He alleges that he was sexually abused on one occasion by a male guard while living at KidsPeace, according to the lawsuit. 

He alleges that he reported this instance of abuse to another staff member at the facility but that no action was taken, the lawsuit says. 

The three people involved in the lawsuit demand judgment against the defendants for more than $50,000, along with additional, separate categories of compensation and relief, according to the paperwork.

In response to the lawsuit, KidsPeace said it does not comment on pending litigation.