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This article was updated Friday to include a statement from the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
A dozen formerly incarcerated youth filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Snohomish County, alleging decades of sexual abuse by staff at the Denney Youth Center and Denney Juvenile Justice Center in Everett.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, also names 20 unidentified individuals accused of participating in or enabling the abuse, which allegedly occurred between 1986 and 2007.
According to Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman, which represents the plaintiffs, victims as young as 10 were subjected to repeated violent sexual assaults and coercion and death threats from staff if they reported the violence.
Attorneys claim the county failed to train and supervise employees, allowed “invasive strip searches,” and permitted staff to monitor children while showering. The complaint also alleges staff groomed youth with gifts and unsupervised contact in cells and “blind spots” throughout the facility.
“The abuse was an institutional failure caused by and maintained through Snohomish County’s willful disregard for the well-being and safety of some of the most vulnerable children in the State of Washington,” the lawsuit states.
“Snohomish County is aware the complaint was filed,” Snohomish County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Bridget Casey said in an email to Lynnwood Today. “The County is currently reviewing the allegations and will respond in court at the appropriate time.”
— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.
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