Girls confined to ‘box’ if they fought sex abuse at FL youth center, suit says
Author: Julia Marnin
Summary:
Five women have filed a lawsuit against the now-closed Milton Girls Juvenile Residential Facility in Florida, alleging repeated abuse and retaliation by staff when they were minors. The suit names Gulf Coast Treatment Center and its parent company, Universal Health Services, as responsible for failing to protect the girls while operating the state-contracted facility.
According to the complaint, girls who resisted or tried to report the abuse were punished by being placed in a small isolation room called “the box.” Staff reportedly stripped them of clothing and denied basic necessities. One survivor says she was confined there for over two weeks.
The lawsuit describes multiple instances of abuse, including assaults during night shifts, retaliation for disclosing abuse during phone calls home, and staff physically harming girls who fought back. At least two former employees were criminally convicted, and others have been accused but not charged.
The facility was shut down in 2012 after years of reported misconduct. Plaintiffs say they were silenced, retraumatized, and left without recourse for years. Their legal team says the suit aims to expose systemic failures in Florida’s juvenile justice system and private operators paid to care for vulnerable youth.