Psychiatric residential treatment facilities like Sequel Youth and Family Services are required to provide quality mental health treatment for at-risk youth. However, numerous reports demonstrate that these treatment programs were causing serious psychological harm.
One source cited in NBC News called Sequel Youth and Family Services locations a “profitable death trap” [1].
If Sequel Youth Services harmed you, you deserve compensation. Our attorneys fight for justice on behalf of young people and their families who Sequel services providers mistreated. With the help of our youth residential treatment center sexual abuse lawyers, you can receive compensation for harm done by these programs, helping you begin a new life abuse-free.
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About Sequel Youth and Family Services
Sequel Youth & Family Services is part of the “troubled teen industry.”
This industry consists of youth facilities meant to treat children with behavioral issues through options like therapeutic boarding schools, drug rehabilitation centers, wilderness programs, and religious institutions. These troubled youth may include foster children, kids placed by their parents, or children convicted of a crime [2].
Sequel facilities provide residential and therapeutic services to troubled kids. Founded in 1999, Sequel Family Services is based in Alabama [3].
Sequel Youth Services was a major player in the family services industry. The organization operated 35 residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding facilities in 16 states, and outpatient programs [4].
Sequel’s programs run on government funding. Medicaid reimburses Sequel up to $800 a day for each child in their programs, which gives it an annual revenue in the hundreds of millions [2].
Adam Shapiro, also involved in Youth Services International, owns the organization [5]. His co-founder, Jay Ripley, went on to found Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, which bought close to half of all Sequel facilities [4]. Ripley sold his majority stake in Sequel to private equity firms in 2017 before finding Vivant in 2021, which he used to buy back many of its facilities [4].
Lawsuits against Sequel Youth and Family Services
Former Sequel Patients Allege Widespread Abuse
In 2024, Anna Claire Bates and Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against Sequel Youth and Family Services on behalf of themselves and others who suffered both sexual and physical abuse while at North Carolina and Alabama facilities [6].
Bates alleged that Sequel employees at Auldern Academy would use physical restraints and abuse to make students comply and that they were deprived of necessary food while performing hard physical labor [6].
Jane Doe alleged that she was sexually abused by both a male and female staff member while at the Montgomery Academy in Alabama. She was also placed in solitary confinement and was not able to speak to other students [6].
Shortly before this lawsuit, Sequel shut down the Auldern Academy in North Carolina, the Clarinda Academy in Iowa, and the Normative Services Academy in Wyoming [6].
16-Year-Old Boy Dies in Michigan
In 2020, Cornelius Fredericks, age 16, died at Sequel’s Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after staff members held him down for 10 minutes after he threw a sandwich at a staff member. Despite Fredericks’ clear distress, staff waited 12 minutes to call emergency services, where he died of cardiac arrest at a local hospital.
Three former Sequel employees were charged with child abuse in this incident [7]. While the company vowed to learn from its mistakes, even more cases of alleged abuse surfaced in the aftermath.
After Fredericks’ death, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer banned the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services from placing children at any Sequel facilities [8]. However, NBC News reported that some children were still being sent to out-of-state facilities.
Child Dies by Suicide While at a Sequel Mental Health Facility
In September 2021, Connor Bennett was placed in a Tuskegee facility by the Alabama Department of Human Resources due to behavioral issues. During his six-month stay, Bennett was repeatedly sexually abused by other children, and staff ignored his complaints. While under Sequel care, Bennett escaped the facility multiple times without staff noticing.
Bennet sustained self-inflicted injuries and was sent to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham, where he died six days later. His mother sued Sequel Youth and Family Services and Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, alleging negligence [9].
Before these abuse scandals, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program had sent a letter of concern regarding four Sequel facilities in the state: Sequel Owens Cross Roads, Sequel Tuskegee, Sequel Courtland, and Sequel Montgomery [10].
Violations by Sequel Youth and Family Services
NBC News released a report based on over 10,000 pages of records from 14 states and hundreds of patient interviews. They found that patients suffered from sexual abuse, physical assault, forced medication, and solitary confinement [1].
A 41-page report on the Northern Illinois Academy run by Sequel found that staff were not put through mandatory child abuse training, improperly restrained patients, and failed to report abuse. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services pulled Northern Illinois Academy’s certification in 2020, and the report urged that the facility be closed [11].
Numerous Sequel Youth and Family Services facilities have been cited for failing to protect patients. However, some Alabama facilities passed regular inspections despite patients attempting to raise awareness of their suffering [12].
In a report about Sequel, Birmingham researcher James Delano noted that Sequel facilities practiced “Group Ignorance,” where residents were not allowed to be within 10 feet of another resident.
They were only allowed to interact with others during billable services, such as group therapy. The article notes that at least one Sequel resident attempted suicide because of this psychological abuse [13].
The Equal Justice Initiative, an organization committed to reforming the justice system, reported on the shocking conditions found in several Alabama facilities. Blood smeared on windows, feces on the floor, roach infestations, and missing tiles were some of the serious violations noted by investigators [12].
Children in the facilities reported physical punishment, including being thrown headfirst into walls, slammed into the floor, or being hit by staff members. They were forced to sleep on thin mats laid atop concrete sheets. Some even stated that staff encouraged them to kill themselves [12].
This abuse was not limited to only Illinois or Alabama.
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services received a tip in 2019 about the Kingston Academy, where children were restrained face-down, and the building had serious sanitation issues, including doors held up by two-by-fours and crumbling walls. The department removed 18 children, and Sequel shut down the facility [14].
Also in 2019, a riot broke out at Sequel’s Red Rock Canyon School in Utah, where a child was stabbed with a kitchen knife, and blood was sprayed on the walls of the timeout room [14].
New allegations of sexual conduct and widespread violence spurred a report by the state of Utah into the facility. Officials found several incidents of dangerous restraints, including one resident choking another to the point of unconsciousness. Shortly after, Sequel permanently closed the facility rather than attempt to rectify the harm done [14].
Your Rights as a Sexual Abuse Victim
If you were harmed in a Sequel Youth and Family Services facility, you have the right to seek compensation, and our attorneys can help. We will thoroughly investigate your allegations, including finding reports, citations, eyewitness testimony, and communications.
After identifying the strength of your case and calculating potential damages, we will negotiate with Sequel for a settlement. This process starts with a demand letter stating how much we believe your case is worth.
In many cases, it’s possible to settle a case out of court. However, facilities may refuse a fair agreement, and we will file a lawsuit against them. This involves filing documents, depositing, sharing resources with the defendant’s legal team, and presenting your story at trial.
Our trauma-informed law firm will seek to reduce the stress of a trial as much as possible. We will speak to Sequel’s attorneys on your behalf and involve you as much as possible so that you feel in control. Additionally, we will provide you with local resources to help you heal.
Statutes of Limitations
The statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse vary significantly by state. Some states have recently updated their legislation to provide longer timeframes for victims to file suits, recognizing that some victims may not disclose until later.
Because the statute of limitations differs in each state, you must contact a qualified attorney as soon as possible. Our firm can ensure that you can get justice to the fullest extent of the law.
Secure Expert Legal Representation!
Our team holds abusive facilities like Sequel Youth and Family Services accountable for their failures to care for those they are required to protect. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you owe us nothing unless we can earn you compensation.
To schedule your free consultation with an accomplished sex abuse lawyer, contact Injury Lawyer Team at (888) 424-5757 or use our online consultation request form. Your request is confidential under attorney-client privilege.
References: [1] NBC News, [2] American Bar Association, [3] Pitchbook, [4] APM Reports, [5] Crunchbase, [6] Casetext, [7] M Live, [8] NBC News, [9] NBC News, [10] Southern Poverty Law Center, [11] Equip for Equality, [12] Equal Justice Initiative, [13] UAB Institute for Human Rights, [14] APM Reports
All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.
