SPOFFORD JUVENILE CENTER SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors Sexually Abused at Spofford / Bridges Juvenile Center

The now-closed Spofford Juvenile Center, which operated as the Bridges Juvenile Center from 1999-2011, was for decades known as New York City’s most troubling juvenile detention facility. Plagued by rampant sexual abuse, physical violence, and staff misconduct, the facility now serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of a juvenile detention system in disrepair.

And while the suffering and scandals surrounding Spofford are now a part of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services’ checkered history, they remain a reality for countless survivors who were sexually abused by guards, counselors, and other staff while in custody.

Levy Konigsberg has been at the forefront of representing survivors in lawsuits against the City of New York for the sexual abuse these survivors suffered while confined at juvenile detention facilities at the hands of City employees.  Levy Konigsberg has already filed over 500 cases on behalf of survivors of child sexual abuse at juvenile detention facilities throughout New York City, including Spofford.

Levy Konigsberg is continuing to fight for the brave survivors of abuse at New York City juvenile detention centers.

On November 25, 2025, the New York City Council passed Introduction 1297, an amendment to the Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA).  Introduction 1297 reopens the GMVA lookback window for 18 months and explicitly reaffirms that the law applies not only to individuals, but also to institutions such as juvenile detention centers. This allows survivors with previously time-barred claims to bring their cases during the 18-month window and to seek justice against the institutions that enabled their abuse.

Levy Konigsberg is a top-rated trial practice with a legacy of litigating sexual abuse lawsuits for survivors across New York and the nation, and is now reviewing claims from former Spofford Juvenile Center residents who were sexually abused by staff members. If you have a potential case, we want to help.

History of Sexual Abuse at Spofford Juvenile Center

The Spofford Juvenile Center was a juvenile detention facility located in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. Operated for most of its tenure by the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice (now the NYC Administration for Children’s Services), it served as the city’s only secure detention facility for housing adjudicated youth and youth awaiting trials prior to the opening of the Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx and the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn in 1998.

In 1999, Spofford was renamed and transformed into the Bridges Juvenile Center, which primarily housed pre-adjudicated youth. Despite the change, Spofford continued to build upon its reputation as the city’s harshest and most scandal-plagued juvenile detention center.

Beginning with a string of abuse scandals in the 1960s that compelled the City to assume control of the facility from a local non-profit operator, Spofford has faced innumerable allegations of sexual abuse, misconduct, physical violence, mass escapes, and at least one large-scale, staff-run drug cartel and prostitution ring. These allegations persisted during its years of operation as the Bridges Juvenile Center before the location was finally shuttered for good in 2011.

Spofford’s record of sexual abuse and misconduct is documented by high-profile scandals, legal filings, and sweeping investigations that date back decades. Some examples include:

• In November 1969, NY Senator John Dunne called for a meeting with then NYC Mayor John Lindsay to discuss “horrible” conditions at Spofford and other juvenile detention facilities. Senator Dunne later spearheaded efforts to investigate sexual abuse, staff brutality, and drug smuggling at Spofford that persisted even after the City’s juvenile justice department took control of the facility.

• In July 1970, NYC judges ordered an investigation into conditions at Spofford following charges of drug trafficking and sexual abuse against staff. In August of the same year, a city council member called for the resignation of several officials in the city’s juvenile justice system after visiting Spofford and witnessing what he called “filth and degradation.” The same council member also conducted over 400 hours of interviews with youth inmates, Spofford staff, and childcare experts, and subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging rampant sexual misconduct, physical brutality, and drug trafficking at the juvenile center.

• In February 1978, a Walter Long, a former guard at Spofford Juvenile Center, was arrested in connection to the rape of a 14-year-old detainee by two other inmates. Authorities alleged that Long “locked the doors for privacy” and walked away to allow the rape to continue.

• In 1996, a counselor at Spofford was terminated for molesting a 15-year-old female inmate after shackling her hands and feet. The following year, during which nearly 50 child abuse complaints were brought against Spofford employees, a counselor was convicted of attempted assault after nearly beating a male detainee to death.

• In June 2002, Barrett Walters, a former NYC DJJ counselor employed at Bridges Juvenile Center (formerly known as Spofford) was indicted on charges that he sexually abused a 16-year-old male detainee and endangered the welfare of another teen inmate. According to the criminal complaint, Walters coerced one inmate to strip while he watched in exchange for the drug ecstasy and forcibly grabbed another inmate’s genitals. Walters had been employed by the NYC DJJ since January 2001.

• In March 2011, after 54 years in operation, Spofford (then operating as Bridges Juvenile Center) was closed. At the time of its closure, Spofford/Bridges was the City’s oldest and most infamous juvenile detention center, and had cultivated a reputation for rampant sexual abuse, violence, misconduct, and alarming conditions.

• In 2024 and 2025, Levy Konigsberg filed over 535 sexual abuse lawsuits on behalf of survivors who were sexually abused at Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx, Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx and Rikers Island. The lawsuits were filed against the City of New York for the sexual abuse these survivors suffered while confined at juvenile detention facilities at the hands of City employees. Some of these individuals were sexually abused at multiple juvenile detention facilities in New York City. The lawsuits allege that despite widespread reports, investigations, and campaigns to close or reform these juvenile detention facilities, the City of New York has allowed a culture of sexual abuse and brutality to continue unabated. The abuse endured by these plaintiffs stretches across decades. The lawsuits include allegations of heinous assault, groping, forced oral sex and rape perpetrated by staff members against juveniles at these facilities.

• A majority of filed cases involve sexual abuse perpetrated at Spofford.

• Allegations at Spofford also include allegations that employees raped one juvenile five times per week, leaving her to “scream in pain until she passed out,” according to the lawsuit, and that guards would force the female minors to line up and perform oral sex on them.

Do I Have a Case?

You may have grounds to file a civil legal action if:

• You were sexually abused by a guard, counselor, nurse, or other youth residential treatment or juvenile detention center staff member.
• The abuse occurred at any youth residential treatment or juvenile detention facility.

Levy Konigsberg represents survivors in civil lawsuits that aim to hold youth residential treatment facilities,  juvenile detention centers, private healthcare companies, and other facility operators accountable for their failures to stop abusive staff members and protect young residents.

As civil claims, these cases are separate from any criminal proceedings that may arise from abuse and focus instead on holding institutions liable for damages. This means you may still have a claim even if:

• Your abuser is no longer alive.
• Your abuser was never charged with or convicted of a crime.

Recoverable Damages in Sexual Abuse Claims

In addition to providing accountability and a sense of justice, civil sex abuse lawsuits allow survivors to recover financial compensation for their damages, which may include:

• Past medical and mental health expenses
• Future mental health expenses, including therapy, medications, etc.
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and psychological harm
• Lost income
• Other economic and non-economic damages

New York Juvenile Detention Center Attorneys

A statute of limitations sets deadlines for victims to bring claims against their abuser or entities responsible for the abuse. New York has pioneered efforts to make it easier for sexual abuse survivors to seek justice and compensation.

In 2019, New York passed the Child Victims Act, expanding the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Under current law: (1) survivors of childhood sexual abuse at privately operated juvenile detention centers who were born after February 14, 1998, have until age 55 to file civil lawsuits; and (2) survivors of childhood sexual abuse at juvenile detention centers operated by governmental entities, who were born after November 15, 1999, have until age 55 to file civil lawsuits.

In addition, on January 29, 2026, the New York City Council enacted Introduction 1297, an amendment to the Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA). Introduction 1297 reopens the GMVA lookback window for 18 months. As a result, survivors with previously time-barred claims for sexual abuse that occurred in New York City and prior to January 9, 2022 can file lawsuits between January 29, 2026 and July 29, 2027. Survivors of sexual abuse that occurred in New York City and on or after January 9, 2022 have seven years to bring their claims.

Thus, there may be new avenues to seek justice for previously time-barred claims of abuse at New York juvenile detention centers. If you were sexually abused at a New York juvenile detention center at any time, reach out today.