An alleged victim of child sexual abuse that occurred years ago at the now-shuttered Cresson Secure Treatment Unit has filed a revised lawsuit against the agency that operated the facility on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

The lawsuit was initially filed in the U.S. District Court in Johnstown last October by Pittsburgh attorney Jason E. Luckasevic on behalf of two alleged victims, but in a revised lawsuit filed recently, there is only one plaintiff.

The amended version is very similar to the original complaint, contending that sexual abuse was endemic in juvenile detention centers that existed in the recent past.

“For decades, children at youth treatment centers, including Cresson, have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of guards, counselors and other agents, all while the operators of these institutions … have had knowledge of, and turned a blind eye to, this culture of abuse,” the lawsuit charges.

The focus of the complaint filed on behalf of the alleged victim, who is now in his 30s, is the Justice Resource Institute of Needham, Mass.

“Throughout the time of the incidents forming the basis of the plaintiff’s complaint, JRI was responsible for the operation of the juvenile treatment center known as Cresson Secure Treatment Unit located at 251 Correction Road,” the lawsuit alleges.

The victim is referred to only by his initials “to protect his identity,” it is stated.

The lawsuit points out the problem that it is intending to address.

A 2010 report by the Department of Justice indicated that 13% of youths in juvenile facilities were sexually abused, the complaint stated.

Another DOJ study found that between 2013 and 2018, “most juvenile detention staff who sexually victimized children faced no legal repercussions for their actions.”

The lawsuit charged, “For decades, Defendant (JRI) has been made aware of the ongoing sexual abuse of children in their care through various investigations and reports through numerous allegations by children, extensive media reporting and criminal proceeding against their employees and agents.”

With respect to the plaintiff in the lawsuit, he was a resident of the Secure Treatment Unit from 2008 to 2011, when he was between the ages of 15 to 18.

The charge is that he was persistently violated by a supervisor.

He reported the abuse to a female employee, but his complaints were ignored, the lawsuit charges.

The complaint, charging four counts of negligence and one count of Breach of Fiduciary Duty, seeks financial damages in excess of $50,000 on each count.

The Cresson Secure Unit was closed in 2015.

The defendant is under order, signed by District Judge Mark R. Hornak, to answer the lawsuit by April 3.