A jury of seven men and seven women began hearing testimony Tuesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester in the trial of Lucien Poulette, a 70-year-old former house leader at New Hampshire's Youth Development Center accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy in his care in 1999. Poulette faces two counts of felonious sexual assault and two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, with the alleged assaults said to have occurred between April 3 and November 5, 1999. The trial is expected to last four days.
Prosecutor Ryan Olberding told jurors the teenager was threatened that he would never get out if he said anything, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. Olberding presented a floor plan of Spaulding Cottage along with information about staffing levels at the time, laying out the physical setting where the alleged abuse is said to have taken place. The outlet reports the teen attended culinary arts classes and school while at YDC and could earn furloughs home or cottage points for privileges based on his behavior.
Jury Tours the Former YDC Grounds
As part of the proceedings Tuesday, the jury was expected to view the interior and exterior of the YDC building, the Union Leader reported. Poulette remained in the car during that visit because of mobility issues, according to the same account. Judge Andrew Livernois did not issue jury instructions following two sidebars during the day's proceedings, the newspaper noted.
Defense attorney Stephen Rosecan, who represents Poulette, objected twice to statements Olberding made about sexual-assault victims coming forward later in life. Rosecan argued to the jury that the case is fundamentally about money rather than sexual assault. He said the allegations surfaced only after the accuser learned of lawsuits alleging widespread abuse at YDC, and that the man first claimed sexual assault to a civil attorney who could provide access to financial compensation.
Defense Points to Pre-Trial Loans
According to Rosecan, the alleged victim did not report the abuse for 22 years while at YDC, and received more than $100,000 in pre-trial loans that he used for cars, rent, daycare and a trip to the Dominican Republic. The defense attorney's framing puts financial motive at the center of his case, while prosecutors allege the abuse occurred.
Earlier reporting on Poulette's case has described different charge totals. InDepthNH previously reported that Poulette was charged with 36 counts tied to alleged sexual abuse of several boys during his time as a YDC house leader in the 1990s, while a New Hampshire Department of Justice announcement from 2021 listed an indictment against Poulette on 11 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and 12 counts of felonious sexual assault.
Part of a Larger Reckoning Over YDC
Poulette's trial is unfolding against the backdrop of a sprawling institutional abuse scandal. More than 1,100 lawsuits alleging physical, sexual or emotional abuse spanning six decades at the youth facility have been filed, as reported by WSLS, citing the Associated Press. Since New Hampshire created its YDC Task Force in 2019, only 11 men have been indicted out of hundreds of alleged abusers identified by victims, per Patch.
The state's settlement fund has also drawn scrutiny. As of January, the fund had issued 425 settlements averaging roughly $560,000 including interest, with 1,689 claims still pending, according to New Hampshire Public Radio. More than 1,900 alleged victims filed claims and took part in the settlement process before the state changed its terms, the station reported. Lawmakers have separately approved closing the Youth Development Center and replacing it with a smaller facility at a new location, per the AP account carried by WSLS.
Other YDC Cases Offer a Mixed Record
Poulette's trial follows a bumpy path for other YDC-related prosecutions. Victor Malavet, a 61-year-old Gilford man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl held at the Youth Detention Services Unit in Concord in 2001, was described by Patch as the first criminal suspect among the 11 charged to go to trial. More recently, a judge declared a mistrial in the case of former YDC counselor Jeffrey Buskey, who faced 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault involving David Meehan, after the accuser testified about alleged assaults involving other staff members, according to The Boston Globe. Meehan, who was 14 when he arrived at YDC in 1995, was earlier awarded $38 million by a jury in May 2024, though the state sought to reduce that award to $475,000, WSLS reported.
