- Oct 17, 2011
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A faith-based residential treatment center accused of allowing staff to sexually abuse boys is pushing for legislation that would protect it and similar state contractors from most lawsuits filed by victims and their families.
The legislation would provide immunity to child caring institutions and group homes in connection with the performance of duties under a contract with the Indiana Department of Child Services.
The Fort Wayne nonprofit [Lifeline] is a leading promoter of the legislation. It is DCS's largest contractor, raking in nearly $200 million from the state since 2017.
The academy has been accused of allowing employees to abuse teenage boys, then covering it up. A psychologist hired by the attorneys of one victim said in a report submitted as part of the 2020 lawsuit that at least a dozen staffers were known or suspected to have sexually abused boys at Pierceton Woods.
Court documents and DCS records in the lawsuit detail a troubled facility rife with allegations of the abuse of young boys — most already abuse victims seeking treatment. The case alleged a 16-year-old boy was groomed and sexually abused by a female worker.
An investigation by DCS found that allegations of child seduction against the employee were substantiated, meaning there’s enough evidence for a “reasonable person” to believe the boy had been abused. It also revealed the same employee had been investigated two years earlier for similar allegations and allowed to keep her job despite refusing to cooperate with that earlier DCS investigation.
Staffers who were accused of or committed sexual misconduct were sometimes reassigned or given the opportunity to resign, allowing them to move to other youth organizations, Kristine Chapleau, a licensed clinical psychologist in Indianapolis, wrote in her 21-page report.
One employee was allowed to resign after sexually abusing a boy under 15 and was never reported to DCS, according to the report. So was another employee who sexually abused a 15-year-old boy inside a supply closet. Another was allegedly impregnated by a resident she helped escape from the academy, the report said.
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During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, [CEO] Tim Smith said the immunity legislation is needed because of a huge increase in insurance premiums.
The legislation would provide immunity to child caring institutions and group homes in connection with the performance of duties under a contract with the Indiana Department of Child Services.
The Fort Wayne nonprofit [Lifeline] is a leading promoter of the legislation. It is DCS's largest contractor, raking in nearly $200 million from the state since 2017.
The academy has been accused of allowing employees to abuse teenage boys, then covering it up. A psychologist hired by the attorneys of one victim said in a report submitted as part of the 2020 lawsuit that at least a dozen staffers were known or suspected to have sexually abused boys at Pierceton Woods.
Court documents and DCS records in the lawsuit detail a troubled facility rife with allegations of the abuse of young boys — most already abuse victims seeking treatment. The case alleged a 16-year-old boy was groomed and sexually abused by a female worker.
An investigation by DCS found that allegations of child seduction against the employee were substantiated, meaning there’s enough evidence for a “reasonable person” to believe the boy had been abused. It also revealed the same employee had been investigated two years earlier for similar allegations and allowed to keep her job despite refusing to cooperate with that earlier DCS investigation.
Staffers who were accused of or committed sexual misconduct were sometimes reassigned or given the opportunity to resign, allowing them to move to other youth organizations, Kristine Chapleau, a licensed clinical psychologist in Indianapolis, wrote in her 21-page report.
One employee was allowed to resign after sexually abusing a boy under 15 and was never reported to DCS, according to the report. So was another employee who sexually abused a 15-year-old boy inside a supply closet. Another was allegedly impregnated by a resident she helped escape from the academy, the report said.
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During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, [CEO] Tim Smith said the immunity legislation is needed because of a huge increase in insurance premiums.
