Thousands of people who were in custody in Maryland as juveniles have emerged from the shadows to expose a harrowing legacy within state-run detention systems. Their battle for restitution could prove crippling to taxpayers who are asked to pay for the sins of the government. Mikenzie Frost reports.

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

When the state of Maryland takes kids and juveniles into care, many end up in facilities like this, some because they’ve been arrested, others because they’re a danger to themselves.

Patricia Thomas: When I was younger, I was abused, and I started running away from home to get away from what was happening to me.

After Patricia Thomas ran away from her abusive home, she was sent to Thomas J.S. Waxter Children’s Center, where a new nightmare began.

Thomas: I was sexually assaulted there. I didn’t even feel safe to take a shower.

She says she suffered from repeated abuse from members of staff over many years.

Mikenzie: Who knew about this abuse?

Thomas: Everybody, because it was happening to all of us.

Thomas later turned to drugs and alcohol, even attempting to take her own life, she says, just to block out the horrific memories of her abuse. Now she and around two thousand others are suing Maryland, many alleging sexual and physical abuse in juvenile detention facilities.

The wave of cases came after the state passed a law removing the deadline called “statute of limitations” for people to file lawsuits related to child sexual abuse occurring anywhere, from schools to churches, and in state facilities. Victims could receive $890,000 per occurrence of abuse.

Todd Matthews is an attorney representing Thomas and working on thousands of similar cases in Maryland.

Todd Mathews: So, for the first time in Maryland, it gave them a voice. It gave them an avenue for the government to listen to them. I think there are about 5,500 survivors that we know of right now. Survivors oftentimes don’t even begin to deal with this until their mid-forties up to their mid-fifties, and so there will be more people.

The sheer number of victims created an unanticipated problem and another controversy. 5,500 cases at up to $890,000 each add up to nearly $5 billion. A massive liability for a state facing a $3 billion deficit this year.

So recently, Maryland lawmakers rushed to change the law. Delegate CT Wilson, a democrat, is an abuse survivor himself. He sponsored the original law but recently backed a plan to reduce how much money victims could get from $890,000 per occurrence of abuse to $400,000 total.

CT Wilson: I never imagined thousands and thousands of victims that the state is responsible for. So, knowing that now you have to go back and revisit it because I do owe a duty not just to the victims of Maryland, but to the taxpayers in Maryland as well.

Mikenzie: Is it fair to the victims, though, to say you opened the door for them to come forward and to potentially seek some monetary payment for what happened to them, to say now the state can’t afford it?

CT Wilson: Well, the thing is, we’re not closing the door. They can still come forward, they can still tell their stories, and they can still get a monetary payment. It’s just not going to be millions and millions of dollars per person.

Republican delegate Robin Grammer is against limiting payouts to victims.

Robin Grammer: If we hadn’t spent ourselves into oblivion, if we hadn’t bankrupted the state, we wouldn’t be in a position where certain people are looking to cut damages for victims.

Thomas’s attorney, Matthews, who’s also an abuse survivor, says slashing the state’s liability reduces the incentive for meaningful change.

Mathews: Regardless of whether it’s a governmental entity, a big corporation, a Catholic church, the way our legal system is set up and the way our society is set up is money makes things different. Look, as a survivor myself, I will tell you $400,000 is a slap in the face to these survivors because it will not create change if the government has a limit as to what they’re responsible for, it will not create change.

Maryland is not alone in dealing with a groundswell of abuse claims. Lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of juveniles in state care have been filed in more than a dozen states. LA County in California recently settled 6,800 cases for $4 billion, the largest settlement so far.

Meantime, Matthews says, the human costs in Maryland continue to climb.

Mathews: This is continuing to happen today. We know that because we represent other survivors who have reported abuse in the last two years.

Meaning more people, like Thomas, could come forward years from now.

Thomas: It destroyed my life for so long, and I didn’t think I even deserved better or good.

Any money she might get from the state providing a measure of accountability for what she and thousands of others have endured.

Thomas: I’m here for the future generations to come because no matter what happens, it’s not going to take, it’s not going to give my childhood back. My childhood is gone. I’m about to be a grandma now, but if I can stop it from happening to any other child, then that’s why I’m here.

For Full Measure, I’m Mikenzie Frost in Maryland.

Watch video here.