MANCHESTER, N.H. — One of the first men charged with abusing children at New Hampshire’s state-run youth detention center was acquitted of three sexual assault charges Wednesday by a jury that was unable to reach a verdict on five other charges.

Stephen Murphy, 56, of Danvers, Massachusetts, was one of two former Youth Development Center workers charged in 2019 with assaulting a teenage boy at the Manchester facility in the 1990s. The ensuing scandal has expanded to include an unprecedented criminal investigation, nine additional arrests, over 1,100 lawsuits, and the establishment of a settlement fund to compensate victims.

It was the second trial for Murphy. His first, involving another alleged victim, ended in a mistrial in January. He still faces charges related to two other former re

See Full Page