More than 350 lawsuits have now been filed by men and women who allege they were sexually abused as children while in custody at New Jersey’s state-run juvenile facilities, their attorneys announced Wednesday.

Among the plaintiffs is Hassans Kirby, who spoke publicly about his abuse for the first time. “You’re talking 38 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Kirby. “I was called into one of the supervisors’ offices where I would clean and mop and change the garbage cans. Then he would look at my body and say, ‘You stole the cigarettes, and now you have to strip.’”

Jerome Block, an attorney at Levy Konigsberg LLP, says that many of the plaintiffs report strikingly similar experiences — stories of coercion, manipulation, and rape by adults who were supposed to care for them. “Many of our clients were forced to perform sexual acts,” he said. “No child should have to go through that.”

The cases stem from multiple juvenile facilities across the state. Last month, the New Jersey Supreme Court approved multi-county litigation, consolidating the lawsuits in Middlesex County — home to the New Jersey Training School at Jamesburg, a facility with a long history of federal scrutiny.

According to the legal team, patterns of abuse reported by survivors include grooming, coercion, and outright assault — all allegedly committed by state-employed staff.

“The Department of Justice has done multiple studies that found serious problems with child sexual abuse in New Jersey’s juvenile system,” Block noted. “In particular, Jamesburg — formerly the New Jersey Training School for Boys — was found to have a high incidence of abuse. What we are seeing now is a growing awareness among survivors.”

Former inmates say they are no longer staying silent — not just for justice, but to expose the system that allowed the abuse to continue unchecked for decades.

Jason Ackerson was sent to Jamesburg between 2002 and 2003. “I was just a kid,” he said. “While I was in the behavior modification unit, I was abused by a corrections officer named Rodriguez. At first, I thought he was being kind — offering me food and other privileges — until one day he came into my cell, locked it, and said, ‘It’s time to pay me back.’ He slapped me, grabbed my throat, and beat me until I submitted.”

For others, the abuse came suddenly and violently. Randolph McCloud described his abuse:  “He called me out to talk about a write-up, then hit me over the head. What happened next is too graphic to describe. It still shocks me that places like this are still open.”

The lawsuits include multiple facilities beyond Jamesburg. Dorothy Lepore, who was 16 years old at the time, says she was sexually assaulted by a supervisor at Morris Juvenile Center. “There was a person in charge — an authority figure — who sexually abused me and took advantage of me,” she said.

Advocates say this wave of litigation is only the beginning. They are urging others to come forward and share their stories. NJ Spotlight News has reached out to the New Jersey Training School at Jamesburg for comment but has not yet received a response.

In a statement, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said: “Given the ongoing litigation, we cannot comment on today’s press conference. But our office has made it clear that people who use their positions of power to abuse those under their care will not and cannot be tolerated in this state.”