Lawsuit says teen assaulted at Devereux

A civil lawsuit has been filed against the Devereux Foundation and its other legal entities on behalf of a Clinton County teenager that says the youth was assaulted by a staffer at the organization’s West Brandywine campus while others stood by and did nothing to stop it, or later report what they had seen.

The suit, filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas court by attorneys with the West Chester law firm of Goldberg, Goldberg and Maloney, asked for unspecified damages from the organization, which has been the subject of several complaints that its residents have been subjected to multiple

instances of physical and sexual abuse.

In August, Philadelphia stopped sending local children to facilities operated by a nonprofit health organization where at least 41 intellectually disabled children have reported sexual assaults over the past quarter-century.

Several City Council members have also demanded that officials remove all 62 local children from campuses of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health facilities and cancel all contracts with the firm, including a $7.5 million agreement it holds with Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services.

That month, it was reported that the city Department of Human Services had notified 53 children and their guardians currently placed at Devereux facilities that they would be removed from those campuses over safety concerns.

According to the suit, filed by former Chester County prosecutors Chad Maloney and Basil Joy, of the Goldberg firm, the assault took place at the Brandywine campus in Glenmoore, where the young man, a then-15-year-old identified by his initials, W.H., had been placed since the previous August for behavioral treatment.

On Jan. 6, a Devereux behavioral specialist named Tahir Carr allegedly began exchanging words over an unknown dispute with W.H., the suit states. At some point, Carr grabbed the youth, shoved him down a hallway, and threw him backwards.

Carr then shoved W.H. against a wall, face first, and the youth fell to the floor. When he did, Carr stomped on his face with his foot. The youth lost consciousness and suffered welts and bruises on his face, for which he was treated at the Brandywine Hospital in Caln.

According to the lawsuit, “multiple Devereux employees watched” as Carr “viciously assaulted W.H., but not one intervened to prevent or stop the assault.” And, contrary to state law for certified reporters who work with juveniles, none of the employees who witnessed the alleged assault contacted law enforcement to notify them of the incident.

According to media reports, it was not until after the parents of W.H., a couple who adopted him and who live in Renovo, in western Pennsylvania, called the ChildLine tip service to report the incident, which initiated an investigation by West Brandywine police, that Devereux reported the assault.

Carr, 26, of Reading, was charged by police in February with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of children, and related counts. He is awaiting trial before Common Pleas Judge Patrick Carmody.

A review of court records published last year shows that since July 2018, 20 Devereux staffers have been charged with assaulting 18 residential patients at the organization’s three campuses in Chester County, in West Brandywine, West Whiteland, and Willistown.

In response to the reports, Devereux began upgrading its training and security systems, and issued statements decrying the assaults but not acknowledging liability.

“These incidents are heartbreaking and unacceptable, and we must always ensure we’ve learned from the past and are constantly driving change in our organization and industry,” Devereux officials said in a statement. “Every provider in the field must deal with the issue of employees who, despite thorough training, support, and supervision, do the wrong thing in complicated situations.

“At Devereux, we hold ourselves to the highest standards — we know there is still important work to be done and we are committed to protecting those in our care.”

It was unclear who is defending the organization in the latest suit filed on behalf of W.H. The suit was filed last Friday, charging negligence and assault.