Sununu gets more money for abuse investigation
(The Center Square) – New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is getting more money to probe allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the state’s scandal-plagued juvenile justice center.
The nearly $1 million request by the New Hampshire Department of Justice, which was approved by the Legislature’s Fiscal Committee on Friday, will be devoted to investigating and prosecuting individuals accused of abusing children at the state’s youth detention center.
Lawmakers budgeted $350,000 in the current two-year budget to prosecute crimes related to the abuse at the center, but that money has been nearly tapped out, according to the agency.
The DOJ estimates it will need more than $950,000 through June 2022 to cover the cost of the investigation and related legal expenses.
Attorney General John Formella said the probe of the youth center has “evolved into a complex and multi-faceted investigation” that will require more funding and resources.
“This case involves a very large volume of documents, involving decades of records,” he wrote in a recent letter to Sununu and other state leaders outlining his request.
Overall, the agency estimates it will need an additional $2.7 million through the end of the fiscal year to cover the cost of defending the state and investigating crimes.
The state’s juvenile detention center – named for former Gov. John H. Sununu, the father of the current governor – has been rocked by scandal over allegations, dating back decades, that former staff members physically and sexually abused more than 150 teens at the facility.
A criminal investigation, launched more than two years ago, is still underway. At least 11 suspects, many former staffers, have been arrested, according to the state.
Lawmakers recently approved a two-year state budget that calls for closing the facility in the next two years and replacing it with a new, 18-bed center. The state has hired a consulting firm to oversee the process of closing the facility.
The state spends about $13 million a year to operate the sprawling Sununu Youth Services Center, which is currently operating at only about 10% of its capacity.
Sununu recently created a new state commission charged with coming up with recommendations for overhauling the state’s juvenile justice system.
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