Father of former youth detention center resident testifies against him in New Hampshire trial

BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — The father of a man who says he was regularly raped and beaten as a teen at New Hampshire’s youth detention center briefly testified Tuesday, saying his son had a reputation for dishonesty.

Daniel Meehan was the first witness called by the state, which is defending itself against allegations that its negligence allowed his son David to be abused at the Youth Development Center. Since David Meehan went to police in 2017, 11 former state workers have been arrested, and more than 1,100 former residents of the Manchester facility have filed lawsuits airing allegations of abuse that spanned six decades.

David Meehan’s lawsui t was the first to be filed and the first to go to trial earlier this month. During his three days on the witness stand, lawyers for the state questioned Meehan in detail about his childhood and suggested he was a violent boy who falsely accused his parents of physical abuse when they tried to impose rules. In contrast, the state’s lawyers spent little time on that Tuesday, questioning for Meehan’s father for little more than five minutes.