Lawsuit alleges 10-year-old boy was sexually assaulted at psychiatric hospital
By Yazmin Rodriguez
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UPPER ST. CLAIR, Pa. (WTAE) — Lisa Croner was already dealing with the unimaginable, having to admit her then-10-year-old son into psychiatric care. But it wasn’t until weeks after he was discharged that she learned of the horrors that unfolded.
“And I wish I could take that day back. I never would have sent him there. And I was hesitant from the very beginning to send him there anyway because I’ve heard so many bad things about this hospital, but I knew my son needed help,” said Lisa Croner.
It was in October 2023 that Croner’s son was admitted to Southwood Psychiatric Hospital for about six days. The first few days of his stay he roomed alone, but on about day 3, he was moved into a room with two other male minors, one of whom had a history of sexually abusing other children and was being treated for sexually maladaptive behavior.
“But why was he put in a room with other minors? Never should have happened, ever, because you just put those other two minors at risk,” said Croner.
Croner is suing the hospital in hopes of holding them accountable for what happened to her son and seeking financial compensation for his ongoing and future medical and psychiatric care.
“I hope that they change their policies — that not just Southwood, but psychiatric hospitals that have the care and custody and control of minors take that to heart, and understand what that means and the responsibility they’re taking on,” said Amy Mathieu, the lawyer representing Croner.
One of those policies is that doors to all patient rooms remain cracked 24/7 for routine checks. The lawsuit alleges there is evidence indicating that while the door was open for the entirety of the sexual assault, staff were either asleep or listening to loud music and not constantly checking on patients.
“Now we reasonably believe that those checks were not happening, which is especially important because my client was suffering from suicidal ideation. He should be checked on every few hours and make sure that he’s OK,” said Mathieu.
The hospital now has 30 days to file an answer. As for that other patient who’s accused of sexual abuse, criminal juvenile charges were filed in Greene County, where he lives. The status and update of those charges remain unknown. We did reach out to Southwood Psychiatric Hospital for comment, but did not hear back.
Mathieu also says if there are any other former patients of the hospital interested in sharing their stories you can reach out to her through her practice HKM Employment Attorneys, LLC.
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