Settlement fund proposed for youth center sex abuse victims

By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a $100 million fund to settle claims of child sex abuse at the state’s youth detention center. A House committee will hold a public hearing Thursday on a bipartisan bill sponsors say was requested by the attorney general’s office. About 350 men and women have filed lawsuits alleging they were physically or sexually abused as children at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. The proposal would cap individual settlements at $1.5 million and require participants to waive their rights to sue. The attorney handling most of the cases called the proposal offensive.