Eighty-five people have joined a civil complaint against Maryland and the state Department of Juvenile Services over alleged sexual abuse at dozens of youth detention centers as early as 1974 to 2018, attorneys said.

The complaint, brought by the Levy Konigsberg law firm on Thursday, is a part of mounting litigation detailing abuse at Maryland’s youth detention centers. Attorneys Jerome Block and Clark Binkley announced the lawsuit just a few weeks after state budget woes paved the way for changes to the Child Victims Act.

“The state has forced our hand, and all of the attorneys representing the survivors across the state are rushing to file because the state created this deadline,” said Binkley, an attorney for Levy Konigsberg. “It’s just unbelievable that they would react to these survivors finally having a voice … and saying, ‘We’re gonna take that voice away.’”

The Child Victims Act, which passed in April 2023, allows child sexual abuse survivors to bring charges against their alleged abusers. Those alleging abuse from public institutions, such as the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, or private institutions like churches, are now only eligible for $400,000 and $700,000 respectively, down from $890,000 and $1.5 million.

The changes will take effect June 1, which means the survivors Levy Konigsberg attorneys are currently representing could fight for higher amounts. Binkley said the firm intends to file more complaints on survivors’ behalf ahead of June 1.

“DJS takes allegations of sexual abuse of children in our care with utmost seriousness and we are working hard to provide decent, humane and rehabilitative environments for youth committed to the Department. DJS notes that all the claims brought under the Maryland Child Victims Act involve allegations from many decades ago,” according to a statement from the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

The latest filings come on the heels of 69 men filing a civil suit against the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, alleging a former state youth detention center employee abused them as children. The accused is Ronald Neverdon, who worked in various capacities at Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, a state-run juvenile detention center, between the 1970s and 2013.

Neverdon, who is in his 70s now, faces nearly 40 charges, including child abuse and second-degree sex offense, from instances of alleged abuse that happened from 1976 to 1988. Three of the 85 plaintiffs in the latest filing accused Neverdon of abusing them.

With the latest filings, the firm has already brought over 650 cases detailing abuse that allegedly occurred at state youth detention centers across decades. That could be up to 1,000 by June 1, Binkley said.

“It is both appalling and disappointing to our clients that the State of Maryland has refused to take any responsibility for this horrific sexual abuse. Instead of supporting survivors, the State has callously attempted to revoke vested rights provided by the Maryland Child Victims Act,” Block said in a press release Thursday. “These survivors will not be ignored, they will not be silenced, and they will not allow unconstitutional tort reform efforts stop them from obtaining full justice and accountability.”