A now-closed Detroit youth treatment center, the Detroit Behavioral Institute (DBI), and its parent company, Acadia Healthcare, are facing serious legal allegations of sexual abuse as outlined in a lawsuit filed in Wayne County Circuit Court. Per the allegations put forth in the lawsuit, a former supervisor is accused of sexually abusing three teenage girls who were housed at the facility in 2017 and 2018.
The three women, known in court documents as Jane Doe 1, 2, and 3, stated the abuse occurred at the Institute when they were 15 and 16 years old. "I felt like I was trapped in a jail of horrors," Daejia Roberts, now 22 and known as Jane Doe 1 in the lawsuit, said in a statement detailed by Detroit Free Press. Roberts reported that after she divulged the abuse, she faced intimidation and was branded "fast" and a "snitch" by facility staff.
Acadia Healthcare is vigorously denying the claims outlined in the suit. They provided Detroit Free Press a statement, which reads, “The well-being of all patients is of the utmost importance to Acadia Healthcare and its affiliated facilities," the statement said. "We take these allegations seriously. While we can’t comment on specific allegations and patient situations due to privacy regulations, the picture being painted of Acadia and the quality of care provided by our facilities is inaccurate. We intend to defend this case vigorously.” While we can’t comment on specific allegations and patient situations due to privacy regulations, the picture of Acadia and the quality of care provided by our facilities is inaccurate. The lawyers for the victims say that they hope the suit will shine a light on the widespread issue of child sexual abuse within such facilities, not only in Michigan but also nationwide. "Candidly, this is a patient population that our society doesn't care about the way that they should," attorney Parker Stinar told CBS News Detroit.
According to FOX 2 Detroit, the attorneys claim the alleged abuse began back in 2005 and continued until the DBI was closed in 2022. The scope of the abuse was purportedly beyond the cases reported to the police, with some victims allegedly too intimidated to speak out. Roberts herself stated at a press conference, "I'm grown now. I'm not scared to speak." She is determined to be a voice for other children who might currently be facing abuse without being able to be heard.
The lawsuit also alleges that the supervisor used threats to coerce and intimidate the victims into silence. Jane Doe 3 reportedly never reported the abuse she endured due to fears of having to give birth at the center. "Michael Flaniken — who touches kids and is walking around in Detroit right now, free — you are not going to get away with your crimes. I’m grown now, I’m not scared to speak," Roberts said, per Detroit Free Press in a heartfelt appeal for justice.
