Mistrial declared in New Hampshire youth detention center sex abuse case

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a former youth detention center worker charged with repeatedly raping a teenage boy after his accuser briefly testified about allegations involving other staff.

Jeffrey Buskey, 60, of Litchfield, is charged with 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault against David Meehan, who was 14 when he arrived at the Youth Development Center in Manchester in 1995.

Testifying for a second day on Tuesday, Meehan was in the midst of describing an alleged assault by Buskey when he said he had also been assaulted by another staffer earlier that day. That prompted Buskey’s defense to ask for a mistrial, a request Judge Will Delker denied after reminding lawyers that “witnesses are human beings” who can struggle to maintain control of their emotions.

The judge then instructed jurors to disregard the testimony. But a few minutes later, Meehan said “no” when prosecutor Audriana Mekula asked whether Buskey was the first person with whom he had experienced a certain sexual act. The defense objected, and Delker declared a mistrial.

Meehan later declined to comment. Buskey left the courthouse without commenting, and his lawyers did not respond to a phone message. Mekula’s co-counsel, Associate Attorney General Thomas Velardi, said the state will consider its options, including retrying the case.

“Jury trials are very particular in regards to the type of evidence that is admissible. In this instance, the judge found that some of the evidence that came in should not be heard by the jury,” Velardi said. “When the judge believes such evidence does come in, and there is not an adequate way to instruct the jury to disregard it, the judge believes he must declare a mistrial.”

In addition to the allegations involving Meehan, Buskey faces separate charges involving three other former residents of the state-run facility now known as the Sununu Youth Services Center. His arrest along with another former staffer in 2019 thrust one of the nation’s largest youth detention scandals into public view.

Since then, the state has conducted an unprecedented criminal investigation and made nine additional arrests. It also established a settlement fund to compensate victims and began defending itself against more than 1,100 lawsuits alleging physical, sexual or emotional abuse spanning six decades.

Meehan’s suit was the first filed and the only one to go to trial so far. A jury awarded him $38 million in May 2024, though the verdict remains in dispute as the state seeks to reduce the award to $475,000. The Associated Press generally does not identify those who say they were victims of sexual assault unless they have come forward publicly, as Meehan has done.

As testimony got underway Monday, Mekula asked Meehan, “What is YDC to you?”

“Hell,” he answered.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of prosecutor Audriana Mekula’s last name in one instance.