Teen Who was Abused at Detention Center Seeks Punitive Fines

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A teen who was sexually abused by a security supervisor at an Idaho juvenile detention facility is asking a judge to let him seek punitive damages against the officials that he says likely knew of the abuse but failed to take action to stop it.

The lawsuit was filed last year by a former 15-year-old resident of the Juvenile Correction Center in Nampa. The teen was sexually abused by then-security supervisor Julie McCormick several times in 2012; McCormick was later convicted of lewd conduct with a minor.

The teen wants a judge to let him seek additional financial damages from Idaho Department of Juvenile Correction Director Sharon Harrigfeld and former detention center superintendent Betty Grimm. Punitive damages are typically sought as a way to punish an agency or person for allegedly bad conduct, and to deter them from doing it again in the future. Harrigfeld and Grimm have denied any wrongdoing in connection with the case.