Facilities like Glade Run Lutheran Services in Zelienople, PA, are supposed to protect, nurture, and help troubled kids. Instead, the now-closed residential treatment facility made headlines and faced multiple lawsuits over the horrific abuse that was reported to have occurred there.
For many survivors of abuse at Glade Run Lutheran Services in Zelienople, it’s not too late to take action. Our experienced, compassionate child abuse lawsuit attorneys can help you explore the legal options available to you under Pennsylvania law. If you decide to move forward with a case against the Glade Run Lutheran Services facility, you won’t have to pay anything out of pocket for our professional legal representation. Just call (866) 778-5500 or complete our online form today for a free, confidential consultation.
Allegations of child sexual abuse at Glade Run Lutheran Services facility in Zelienople, Pennsylvania—located in Butler County about 25 miles north of Pittsburgh—caused the state to revoke the facility’s license in 2015.
During and after investigations into the abuse allegations, multiple children and their families filed lawsuits against the residential facility, according to news articles archived by Unsilenced Project, Inc., a nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to stopping child abuse in what it calls the “troubled teen industry.” At Glade Run Lutheran Services, the allegations primarily consisted of assaults by fellow residents.
On May 19, 2014, a nine-year-old resident was taken to the emergency room with what the lawsuit his family later filed called “signs of sexual assault,” as reported in the Pennsylvania Record. A medical exam revealed that the boy had not only suffered a sexual assault on this one occasion but also showed signs of sexual abuse “over a course of time,” the lawsuit continued.
Despite this evidence, the assaults continued. Between November 2013 and May 2015, the boy suffered “repeated sexual assaults from multiple residents,” during which he was “coerced or forced into gang-sex acts in the laundry room and other places” as well as “subjected to other instances of sexual assault,” the lawsuit later reported. It wasn’t until August 2015 that Glade Run Lutheran Services staff reported the abuse to the authorities, the Pennsylvania Record noted.
Throughout the course of its investigation of the youth facility, the Department of Human Services learned of additional “incidents” involving eight children between the ages of eight and 13 years old that took place between March and July 2015 and “included forcible rape,” local news source TribLive reported.
In October 2015, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services revealed that it would be revoking the facility’s license. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the Glade Run Lutheran Services facility, the Daily Comet reported.
Know your legal options.
Although other residents may have been the perpetrators of the assaults in the most widely publicized cases of Glade Run Lutheran Services abuse, the facility isn’t blameless.
After all, how could a residential facility that serves children with mental health conditions and developmental disabilities allow this sort of abuse to happen—especially repeatedly over the course of many months?
Local news source WTAE Pittsburgh reported that, in addition to the reports of abuse and assaults themselves, there were “several violations found including, but not limited to: inadequate supervision of the children, failed policy and procedure implementation; failure to report missing children; staff members sleeping during their shifts; and insufficient staffing levels.”
Staff at Glade Run Lutheran Services facility in Zelienople failed to report the abuse and, one of the multiple lawsuits filed against Glade Run Lutheran Services facility alleged, “ridiculed the plaintiff” instead of helping him, TribLive reported.
Any survivor of child abuse at Glade Run Lutheran Services in Zelienople, PA, should explore their legal options. It may be possible to file a claim or lawsuit over the abuse you suffered in civil court, even if no criminal charges were filed in connection with the assault.
Under updated Pennsylvania laws and legal precedents, it may be possible to pursue a claim even if several years have passed since the abuse occurred.
No child should ever have to go through the abuse that has been reported at Glade Run Lutheran Services facility in Zelienople, PA. Although there’s no way to erase what’s been done to you, the opportunity to file a claim against the facility may offer a better path forward for survivors of abuse.
If you and your family were never able to get answers about what happened to you at Glade Run and why those in charge allowed the abuse to occur, a lawsuit offers a chance to hold these parties accountable. When sued, the defendant may be required to answer questions or provide information that they would otherwise prefer to sweep under the rug.
For many survivors of childhood abuse, the effects don’t just go away once you’re away from your abusers. Instead, the trauma you have been through may affect you years later, well into adulthood.
The money damages you can recover in a civil claim against a facility that allowed and enabled abuse can help you pay for care and services you need to feel like yourself again. For many survivors of childhood abuse, this care includes evidence-based therapy that can help you process what you have been through and begin to take back control of your life. If you are still dealing with physical injuries or other repercussions of the abuse, a settlement or jury award from a Glade Run child abuse lawsuit can help you afford care or assistance to recover from or better cope with these harms and losses, too.
Suing a longstanding, multimillion-dollar corporation (even a nonprofit one) may sound like a big risk. We’re here to remove the risk so survivors of Glade Run child abuse can feel empowered to pursue legal action. The consultation with a compassionate member of our team is a free and confidential way to get your questions answered and your case evaluated.
You aren’t obligated to move forward with a claim if you choose not to. If you decide you want to file a claim, our No Fee Promise means you’ll pay nothing upfront for legal representation in a Glade Run abuse injury lawsuit. Throughout your claim, we’ll handle every aspect of the legal process for you.
If you’re ready to take the next step, we’re here for you. Call (866) 778-5500 or contact us online today for a free, confidential case review.
