Hospital Facing Scrutiny After Teen Alleges Sex Abuse
A North Carolina teen says she was rescued from a sex trafficking ring only to be abused again at the hospital where she was receiving treatment. Now, Virginia State Police have opened up an investigation into the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents. The victim, identified only as RH, says she was sexually abused more times than she can remember.
RH was born addicted to drugs because her mother was a drug user. She spent most of her life in and out of foster care. In 2017, she was placed into a group home. Authorities believe that it is there that she was sold into sex trafficking. The victim alleges that she was sold out of the group home to those willing to pay money to have sex with her. Eventually, she was transferred to Cumberland Hospital.
According to the girl, the attending doctor who saw her prior to her admission to Cumberland asked her about her prior sexual trauma before touching her underneath her shirt under the guise of performing medical treatment. The girl said that he inserted two of his fingers inside of her vagina while trying to take her pulse. The same doctor has been accused by dozens of girls of performing inappropriate medical exams. Twenty former patients have signed on to a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed against the doctor and the facility.
A second man is named in the lawsuit, this time a psychotherapist who RH says sexually abused her under the guise of therapy. When RH asked why he was attempting to touch and kiss her, he told her that’s how a “real man” should treat her. In other words, he was modeling acceptable behavior. He leveraged her silence under the threat that he could keep her in Cumberland as long as he wanted.
How did this happen?
As difficult as this might be to hear, this has always happened. Today, we are much more aware of it than we used to be because we know how these perpetrators operate. Still, the idea that a group home could be placing children into sex slavery seems impossible. But it’s not.
Decades ago, before these services were provided by medical professionals, it was the church that took in orphaned children. Since these children have no parents watching over them, they are easy targets for pedophiles who want to abuse them. Since they have no recourse to any authority, they’re easily controlled, frightened, and leveraged into silence. This is often why victims don’t come forward. It is especially true for children like RH who do not have immediate families to look out for them.
Talk to a Roanoke, VA Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of hospital staff, call the Roanoke medical malpractice attorneys at MichieHamlett to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.
Resource:
wtvr.com/news/problem-solvers/problem-solvers-investigations/teen-shares-cumberland-hospital-story