A judge has ruled the state can move forward with its new process for settling with people sexually and physically abused as children at New Hampshire's former youth detention center, over the objections of victims who say the new process is unfair and a breach of trust.

Survivors sued the state after the Legislature eliminated the independent fact-finder who had decided what to pay them for the abuse they suffered, in favor of letting the governor and Executive Council choose their own administrator. The new rules also allow the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office to reject the administrator's settlement offers.

In a 25-page ruling Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Daniel St. Hilaire acknowledged the last-minute changes had broken survivors’ trust and had caused them trauma. Sti

See Full Page