The Bridge Family Center, which operated a Short-Term Assessment and Respite (STAR) Home for adolescent girls in Harwinton before a series of troubling incidents resulted in its closure, is arguing in court that one of the girls “was comparatively at fault” for alleged abuse she endured or witnessed if it was done by someone not associated with the facility.
The STAR Home was meant to house adolescent girls in the care and custody of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) who had been removed from their families due to abuse or neglect or, in some cases, sex trafficking, and were experiencing mental and emotional difficulties. The Bridge Family Center is a contractor for DCF and operates three other STAR homes for adolescents in the state.
However, staff at the STAR Home in Harwinton began to lose control in 2022, resulting in sexual and physical assaults on the girls by both STAR Home staff, other residents in the home, and outside adults who traveled to the home to meet up with some of the girls after communicating with them via dating apps.
The girls housed at the STAR Home were allowed to keep and use their cell phones and there was one arrest of a man in 2023 who had traveled to the home to meet one of the girls after communicating with her via phone. A similar incident occurred in 2021, resulting in another arrest.
The Bridge Family Center was sued by the family of one of the girls shortly after the disclosure of problems at the STAR Home in Harwinton in September of 2023. The lawsuit claims the adolescent – Jane Doe – was physically assaulted and exposed to illegal activities, including the sexual assault of minors, during her stay in the home which lasted from April 25, 2023, to June 26, 2023, according to the court complaint.
In their response, The Bridge Family Center, through the organization’s attorney, says the child was at least partially to blame for what occurred and what she experienced during her stay.
“The plaintiff’s alleged injuries and damages, if any, were caused by intervening and superseding causes, including the alleged intentional criminal and/or tortious conduct of former staff members and/or persons unrelated to the defendant,” the court document says.
“If, as alleged by the plaintiff, she was sexually abused and/or assaulted by persons unrelated to the defendant, the plaintiff was comparatively at fault in one or more of the following ways: She communicated with outside people on dating apps and invited them to come to the defendant’s facility; she failed to notify the defendant that she invited unrelated people to come to the defendant’s facility; she put herself at risk by inviting unrelated people to the defendant’s facility; she failed to act reasonably given the circumstances then and there existing,” the defense argued.
The court complaint alleges Jane Doe was physically assaulted while at the STAR home but does not indicate that she was sexually assaulted, although some records are sealed. A former female staff member of the STAR Home was also arrested for illegal sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl at the home in December of 2023.
The disclosure of issues at the Harwinton STAR Home resulted in an informational hearing before the General Assembly’s Committee on Children in October of 2023.
Committee co-chairs Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, and Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, indicated at the outset of the hearing that the hearing would not involve any blame on the troubled youth at the home and focus instead on the incidents related to staff and DCF’s response. The Bridge indicated that they quickly investigated and terminated staff members involved in the assaults.
Because of the pending lawsuit, Executive Director of The Bridge, Margaret Hann, could not testify in person but submitted a statement where she criticized the “tone” taken by Harwinton officials who raised concerns about the ongoing issues with the STAR Home, and a “negative media campaign.”
Harwinton town officials, including First Selectman Michael Criss, had criticized DCF’s policy of allowing the girls to have access to their cell phones, particularly when they may have been victims of trafficking. According to DCF, the phones are necessary so the youth can call for help if they get into trouble or find themselves in danger. The STAR Home was not locked, and youth housed there were known to run away for periods of time.
The lawsuit claims Jane Doe’s exposure to assaults and other illegal activities while at the home further aggravated her existing emotional and psychological issues.
“The plaintiff will never enjoy the health and wellbeing she did prior to becoming a resident at the defendant’s facility, and her ability to enjoy the full spectrum of life’s activities has been impaired,” the court complaint says.
The plaintiffs are seeking monetary and punitive damages.
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