Alabama, USA

Birmingham, AL: (May-07-07) The state of Alabama faced a lawsuit filed by a dozen girls who claimed that they were abused at a youth detention center near Birmingham. The allegations of sexual and physical abuse at the state Department of Youth Services detention center in Chalkville surfaced in 2001, eventually leading to fifteen employees being fired or having resigned voluntarily. The suit was filed against DYS and some of its employees in 2001, followed by several other suits with the dozen girls suing in various state and federal courts. The girls were minors at the time of the alleged abuse, but were 18 at the time of filing suit. In a settlement reached, the state agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle the sexual abuse lawsuits against it. Each of 49 plaintiffs will receive $255,102 from the settlement, and each must pay expenses and attorney fees from their share. [MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER: YOUTH ABUSE]