Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center Sex Abuse Lawsuit
Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center is a high-security, males-only juvenile detention facility in Kentucky that serves as a holding location for youth convicted of crimes. The center is supposed to protect its juvenile detainees and help guide them toward a healthier lifestyle, but recent lawsuits, investigations, and reports have shown that abuse of inmates at Fayette and across Kentucky’s juvenile justice system is tragically common.
If you or a loved one suffered from physical or sexual abuse at Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Kentucky, you have legal rights and options for pursuing justice. Police Brutality Center can connect you with resources and quality legal representation to evaluate your case and work to hold responsible parties accountable.
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Content Last Updated: December 3, 2025
Key Takeaways
- Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center is a high-security youth detention facility in Kentucky that has faced multiple accusations of abuse of inmates in recent years.
- Former detainees of Fayette may be able to hold the individuals and institutions that enabled their abuse accountable through a civil lawsuit.
- Reach out to Police Brutality Center today for a free case review and to be connected with experienced juvenile detention center abuse lawyers.
What is Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center?
The Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice operates the state’s juvenile corrections system. As of 2022, the department runs eight youth detention centers—seven male-only centers and one female-only center. Built in 2005, Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center is a male-only, high-security facility with 56 beds for youth ages 12 to 18 in Lexington. Recently, reports of physical and sexual abuse at the facility have emerged that illustrate a culture of violence among inmates and staff.
Reported Abuse at Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center
In May 2024, the United States Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into conditions at Kentucky’s youth detention centers, including Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center. The investigation is examining the conditions at the facilities run by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice after the federal government received multiple complaints of misconduct at Kentucky’s facilities. In particular, the investigation will probe whether Kentucky adequately protects young inmates from excessive force and sexual abuse by staff, as well as prolonged punitive isolation and a lack of access to mental health and educational services.
On a biannual basis, each of Kentucky’s youth detention facilities undergoes an audit under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA, the most recent of which for Fayette occurred in late 2023. According to the audit, there was only one allegation of sexual abuse made during the 12 months preceding the audit, and the incident involved inmate-on-inmate violence, not staff. Previous PREA audit reports also found that Fayette met all expectations under the act.
Systemic Issues in Kentucky's Juvenile Justice System
Broader systemic challenges across Kentucky’s juvenile justice facilities have affected conditions at the Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center, including staffing shortages, a lack of training, and an overrepresentation of minority youth in detention. Some of the most recent accusations of abuse and violence in Kentucky juvenile justice facilities include the following:
Sexual Misconduct, Fight Clubs, and Staff Violence
Mayfield Youth Development Center: Several employees were removed from their roles following investigations into alleged sexual misconduct, fight clubs, and more at the Mayfield Youth Development Center in Graves County. The investigation, completed in April 2025, found that staffing cuts and a lack of training amongst staff contributed to the misconduct.
Physical Abuse by Staff
McCracken Regional Juvenile Detention Center: In March 2025, former McCracken Juvenile Justice Guard Tyler Lynn was charged with two counts of criminal abuse for breaking two boys’ arms.
Sexual Abuse by Staff
Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center: A former corrections officer at the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center was charged with two felony counts of sexual abuse in May 2024. Neil Moorman allegedly had sexual relationships with two minor girls at the facility. Statements from several employees and other inmates claimed the supervisors knew about Moorman’s behavior, including groping and oral sex, but did nothing about it.
Months earlier, in December 2023, two former nurses at the Campbell facility sued the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice for allegedly covering up reports of sexual abuse, purportedly related to Moorman. The nurses said they received information about the abuse of underage girls detained at Campbell and reported it to higher-ups, but those higher-ups concealed or did not immediately disclose the misconduct to authorities. The nurses were then removed from their positions at the detention center, which they allege was retaliation for reporting the abuse and mismanagement at the facility.
Legal Rights and Options for Victims
If you or your loved one has been the victim of abuse at the Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center or any other Kentucky youth detention facility, you can pursue justice through both the civil and criminal justice systems.
While a criminal case can punish the individual perpetrator with jail time, it does little to compensate you for the physical and mental damages suffered from the assault. However, civil lawsuits allow abuse survivors to hold accountable both the individual perpetrators and the institutions or organizations that enabled the abuse. In a lawsuit, survivors may seek recovery of compensation for their damages, including therapy costs, emotional trauma, and other effects on their lives.
Survivors have the option to report the abuse to the authorities and to the Department of Juvenile Justice itself. To report abuse to the department, you can contact the Internal Investigations Hotline at 800-890-6854.
Reporting the abuse to law enforcement will trigger a criminal investigation. Prosecutors will ultimately decide whether to bring criminal charges against the perpetrator. Meanwhile, reporting the abuse to authorities and regulators can create a valuable paper trail that can bolster a civil lawsuit and encourage other survivors to come forward.
To learn more about your legal options, speak with an experienced civil rights lawyer who can protect your rights and help you pursue the justice you deserve.
Connect With an Experienced Attorney
Police Brutality Center is proud to partner with Alex Straus, Chair of the Civil Rights Department at Milberg LLC, to help victims of civil rights abuses. Throughout his career, Mr. Straus has represented clients across the country in cases involving police misconduct, racial discrimination, and abuse in correctional facilities.
