Mistrial declared in New Hampshire youth detention center sex abuse case

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a former youth detention center worker charged with repeatedly raping a teenage boy after his accuser briefly testified about allegations involving other staff.

Jeffrey Buskey , 60, of Litchfield, is charged with 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault against David Meehan, who was 14 when he arrived at the Youth Development Center in Manchester in 1995.

Testifying for a second day Tuesday, Meehan said Buskey wasn’t the only staffer who sexually assaulted him. That prompted Buskey’s defense to ask for a mistrial, which Judge Will Delker denied. He instead instructed jurors to disregard that testimony, but when it happened again a few minutes later, Delker said he had no choice but to declare a mistrial.

“Jury trials are very particular in regards to the type of evidence that is admissible. In this instance, the judge found that some of the evidence that came in should not be heard by the jury,” said the prosecutor, Associate Attorney General Thomas Velardi. “When the judge believes such evidence does come in, and there is not an adequate way to instruct the jury to disregard it, the judge believes he must declare a mistrial.”

Velardi said the state will consider its options, including retrying the case. Meehan, Buskey and the defense attorneys left the court without comment. A phone message was left for the attorneys.

In addition to the allegations involving Meehan, Buskey also faces separate charges involving three other former residents of the state-run facility now known as the Sununu Youth Services Center. His arrest along with another former staffer in 2019 thrust one of the nation’s largest youth detention scandals into public view.

Since then, the state has conducted an unprecedented criminal investigation and made nine additional arrests . It also established a settlement fund to compensate victims and began defending itself against more than 1,100 lawsuits alleging physical, sexual or emotional abuse spanning six decades.

Meehan’s suit was the first to be filed and the only one to go to trial so far. A jury awarded him $38 million in May 2024, though that verdict remains in dispute as the state seeks to reduce the amount to $475,000. The Associated Press generally does not identify those who say they were victims of sexual assault unless they have come forward publicly, as Meehan has done.

As testimony got underway Monday, prosecutor Audriana Mekula asked Meehan, “What is YDC to you?”

“Hell,” he answered.