Bangor, Maine (AP) The Maine Department of Corrections says an 11-year-old whose teeth were knocked out is to blame for his injuries.
The department is denying allegations of abuse by corrections officers contained in a lawsuit brought on behalf of the boy detained at Long Creek Youth Development Center. The court filing suggests that the boy’s injuries were self-inflicted.
The Bangor Daily News reports that the lawsuit contends correction officers “bashed” the boy’s face on a metal bed frame and “deliberately withheld” treatment. In court documents, the state denies that the boy was forcibly restrained and says the “injuries were caused by his own fault.”
The civil rights lawsuit contends the incident stems from youth center officials’ failure to treat the boy severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
