MZO Team Learns of Appalling Comments Made New Hampshire legislator During Public New Hampshire House Finance Committee Hearing Regarding YDC Settlement Fund

The MZO team has recently learned of a series of appalling comments made by a New Hampshire legislator during a public New Hampshire House Finance Committee hearing regarding the YDC Settlement Fund on January 29, 2025. The YDC Settlement Fund was created through bipartisan efforts and signed into law by Governor Christoper Sununu in 2022 in order to provide compensation to children who were sexually and physically abused by state employees while in the care of stare-run youth detention facilities over the last 50 years.

The MZO team condemns any suggestion that a child rape victim somehow deserves the abuse they suffered because they “got abused because they abused others and abused themselves” or that any compensation they may receive, either through the YDC Settlement Fund or the U.S. civil justice system, equals “being rewarded … for a misspent life”. These are appalling statements and fail to reflect the compassion and concern for justice that we would hope to see from our state legislators. Thankfully, we know from the creation of this settlement fund and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s ongoing prosecution of former YDC employees for child rape and other abuse, that the majority of our lawmakers take child sexual and physical abuse seriously.

We encourage every resident of the State of New Hampshire to participate in our state and local governments by watching our state legislature hearings and speaking with your local representatives regarding the issues that matter to you. The full New Hampshire House Finance Committee hearing can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/live/-JkLHV1i0Fo?t=25226s