A Bronx judge has dismissed hundreds of cases brought by former detainees who say New York City failed to protect them from sexual abuse in juvenile jails — including about 20 people whose claims involve one serial offender at Horizon Juvenile Center.
On Tuesday, City Council members joined survivors and their lawyers on the City Hall steps to demand Council Speaker Adrienne Adams advance a bill in a bid to reinstate more than 450 lawsuits.
“When we brought this case, we believed the law was meant to give survivors like us a chance to be heard,” said Rashawn Jones, whose 2012 allegations against Horizon counselor Natalie Medford were the subject of a Daily News investigation last year. “Instead, our cases were dismissed. Not because we lied, not because what happened didn’t matter — but because of unclear language in the law.”
Rashawn Jones is pictured Friday, June 28, 2024, in the Bronx. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)
That law is the city’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act, which under a recent amendment created a two-year, “lookback window,” until March 2025, for victims to bring civil cases against institutions or city agencies they say enabled such abuse.
Over the summer, an appeals court ruled in a case involving a hospital network that parties accused of enabling violence before the updated law should not be held liable, because the amendment did not explicitly apply retroactively.
Bronx Justice Mitchell Danziger then dismissed the 450 juvenile detention cases based on the appellate decision.
“It’s despicable. It’s deplorable,” Jones told The News after the press conference. “I was home in the house, cleaning up. Someone told me just to go check.”
“So I went and looked. I read the short order form, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. This might be stupid, but I asked ChatGPT five to 10 times, what’s the likelihood of this?”
Rashawn Jones speaks during a rally Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in support of a bill that would clarify a legal pathway for victims of sexual abuse in New York City’s juvenile detention facilities. (Cayla Bamberger / New York Daily News)
Currently, 35 Council members have signed onto a bill that would amend the law again to clear up any ambiguity about it being retroactive. But Speaker Adams has yet to schedule a vote, despite it having the support of more than two-thirds of the Council.
“They deserve the chance to hold both abusers and institutions responsible,” said Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Queens), the measure’s lead sponsor. “This bill will address the recent decision by the courts and make it clear.”
Council spokesperson Lindsey Bach said, “Survivors of gender-based violence deserve justice and accountability. Int. 1297 was introduced in May and is currently going through the legislative process, which is deliberative and allows for thorough input from all stakeholders.”
Marisa Kaufman, a spokeswoman for the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, said, “Sexual abuse and harassment is abhorrent and unacceptable, and although many of the incidents predated this administration or ACS’s involvement with juvenile justice, we take any allegation very seriously. We have implemented a robust prevention strategy and have zero tolerance for misconduct.”
Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Queens) speaks during a rally Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in support of a bill that would clarify a legal pathway for victims of sexual abuse in New York City’s juvenile detention facilities. (Cayla Bamberger / New York Daily News)
The city’s Law Department reiterated the Gender-Motivated Violence Act does not authorize claims against the city before the law was enacted or expanded.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Jerome Block, a partner at Levy Konigsberg LLP.
Jones remains optimistic: “It’s not over, it’s not over, it’s not over,” he repeated. “It’s just — there’s no way.”
“It’s crazy how this agency, ACS, can come and take your kids from you if they deem that you’re not fit to take care of them. I was in their custody when I was molested by one of their staff members. And I don’t know what world we live in, where the [agency] that takes your kids from you, can have your kids in their custody and your kids be molested by their staff.”
“It’s an oxymoron. It’s very paradoxical. I don’t even know the word… But I have faith in my lawyers and the team that we’ll be able to have the next judge see things in our way, especially after this law. Once this law is fixed, there’s no way for them to shrivel out of this.”
Originally Published: September 30, 2025 at 5:52 PM EDT