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Ex-youth detention center counselor faces sex assault trial in New Hampshire

# Ex-youth detention center counselor faces sex assault trial in New Hampshire A sexual assault trial is getting underway in New Hampshire for a man whose arrest more than seven years ago kicked off one of the biggest youth detention scandals in U.S. history ByHOLLY RAMER Associated Press September 14, 2026, 10:29 AM Former youth counselor Jeffrey Buskey, 60, of Litchfield, faces allegations involving four boys held at the Youth Development Center in Manchester in the late 1990s. In the first of his cases to go to trial, he is charged with 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault involving David Meehan, who was 14 when he arrived at the facility now called the Sununu Youth Services Center in 1995. Meehan filed the first of [more than 1,100 lawsuits](https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-youth-center-abuse-bc8c4f89ec90e61cd1eb4356d2e1c731) alleging physical, sexual or emotional abuse spanning six decades. During his [civil trial](https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-youth-detention-center-abuse-lawsuit-f74f276f78f59c953f3c6b7e1fa68d55), Meehan described Buskey's transformation from trusted father figure to horrific abuser, testifying that he gave him soda and snacks and let him play basketball with a local high school team before subjecting him to near daily rapes. “It went from being somebody I trusted, that I thought was not just there to help me, but somebody I thought cared for me, to hurt,” he said. [\ \ \ [\ \ **Man arrested in death of woman found hanging from tree in Mississippi**\ \ He denied abusing him, saying they had a “great relationship.” John H. Sununu. Charges were dropped against Trevor Middleton; Frank Davis was declared incompetent to stand trial, and [Gordon Searles](https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-youth-center-abuse-b13ee4a0b1b58755fcdc955b1173c973) died while awaiting trial. [Stephen Murphy](https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-youth-center-abuse-228f08787ca65cee3d87a32941c6eda8), who has pending charges, had one trial end in mistrial and another end with an acquittal on three charges and a hung jury on five others. [Lucien Poulette](https://apnews.com/article/arrests-manchester-new-hampshire-00008d1a4d96abcd8c0b9c8a4b2d7c7a) is awaiting trial.  ## Sponsored Content by Taboola \ \ \ \