Month: May 2026

By Lauren Linder

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A facility tasked with treating children with mental health issues and disabilities in the Pittsburgh area is facing five new sexual abuse lawsuits.

Amy Mathieu with HKM Employment Attorneys said negligence has been occurring for decades at Southwood Psychiatric Hospital in Upper St. Clair. She said that is why the center is facing five more lawsuits, on top of the three it has already been litigating with Kline and Spector, in the span of a year.

“The families want answers as to why this happened, how this happened, and how Southwood let it happen over and over and over again,” Mathieu said.

All eight cases allege years of physical and sexual abuse of patients at the hands of other patients and staff members.

“The eight cases altogether speak to a systemic problem at Southwood of not supervising the patients in a way that promotes safety,” Mathieu said.

The newest cases involve children who ranged in age from 10 to 17, with the lawsuits claiming much of the abuse happened at night, with vast understaffing.

“There’s no possible way that one employee could be responsible for 22 children in shared rooms without any supervision outside of that one staff member,” Mathieu said.

One lawsuit describes that in one instance, “[a staff member] forcefully removed plaintiff’s pants, removed his own pants, physically restrained plaintiff, and [raped] plaintiff…”

Another alleges that a child’s guardians, alerted to abuse by the police, were prevented by Southwood from visiting their child.

“Anyone who’s presenting for a psychiatric hospital is not only in a desperate state, but a state where they really need care, and they need supervision and treatment, and that’s exactly what this institution is supposed to provide, and it’s exactly what they are not providing to these kids,” Mathieu said.

In many cases, Mathieu said these children needed to go to another facility for treatment of the abuse they received at Southwood, abuse she said could be stopped with better background checks, staffing numbers, single bedrooms, and supervision.

“If they are able to keep kids safe, then I think it is a public service that we need in our community, but not at the peril of our children suffering abuse while they’re there,” Mathieu said.

Mathieu believes more victims are out there and hopes these plaintiffs coming forward will inspire others to do the same.

KDKA reached out to Southwood for comment. In a statement, a spokesperson said, in part, that “We will not comment on threatened litigation. Any claims will be addressed through the appropriate legal process.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Alice Gainer

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    BROOKLYN, New York (WCBS) — The mother of a Brooklyn student with autism has been trying to find out why her son came home from school last month with two teeth missing.

The NYPD is also investigating.

“What is happening here?” It has been two weeks since Raqibah Smiley says her 5-year-old son came home from school missing his two front bottom teeth and had blood stains on his shirt.

“I’m like, oh my god, there’s missing teeth, there’s blood stains. You know, what is happening here?” Smiley said.

The mother said to her knowledge, her son’s teeth had not been loose.

“I feel like if it was, I think that’s something I probably would have noticed,” she said.

Her son has autism and is nonverbal, so Smiley said she immediately drove to P.S. K721 in Gravesend to get answers.

“Nothing was reported” According to a report CBS News New York reviewed, a school official spoke with the paraprofessional assigned to Smiley’s child and classroom, and that person first said the boy showed up to school off the bus that way.

Smiley said she reviewed video with the school that shows her dropping him off in the morning that day with no blood stains on his shirt.

The paraprofessional then apologized and said it was a long day, and told the school official they noticed blood coming from the child’s mouth and gave him water but did not report it to the nurse or administration.

“Did he fall? Did he run into the wall? We know he’s autistic, he’s nonverbal. He’s 5, typical boy, OK? He’s a daredevil. It happens,” Smiley said. “But what happened? I still don’t have no answers, and that’s my thing.”

Smiley contacted the NYPD and has kept her son out of the school since.

“This is a school for people like my son, children like my son. Nothing was reported,” she said. “I’m waiting for justice. I’m waiting for answers. I don’t trust anybody right now.”

The New York City Department of Education said the school district’s Special Commissioner of Investigation is reviewing the allegation and intends to investigate this matter.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kaley Fedko

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — A young woman in Atlanta is turning bible study into a space where women from different generations can lean on each other through faith.

What started as one pastor’s idea has now grown into a ministry connecting hundreds of women across the metro.

Mallory Henson runs EncountHer Women’s Ministry at Encounter Church.

She told CBS News Atlanta she was shocked when her pastor asked her to start the group nine years ago.

“I was about 24 when God just called me to be over this ministry,” Henson said. “A 24-year-old out of college, I’m like, okay, what does this mean? What does this look like?”

It looks like fun.

The group has grown into a community of more than 300 women.

Every month, dozens show up for events designed to make faith feel welcoming, modern, and fun.

“We’re out here living, and we look fun, we look healthy. It’s just, it’s a blessing. I dress how I want to dress, still look my age, and not have to look like, you know, a nun, if you will, to be in the Lord’s church,” Henson said.

April’s meetup included a morning workout class followed by smoothie bowls and open conversations about stress relief.

Henson said the real impact happens at the planned activities, connections forming between women who may have never otherwise met.

The group’s age range spans from 18 to 65.

“We have doctors. We have psychiatrists. We have people from all different walks of life. We’re just able to come together and bond over God, over our love for God, over our love for our church. The friends that I have encountered, we locked in,” said 27-year-old Amber Sylvain.

The women said that cross-generational connection is what makes EncountHer special.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.