{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/politics/former-youth-counselor-jeffrey-buskey-faces-sex-assault-trial","slug":"former-youth-counselor-jeffrey-buskey-faces-sex-assault-trial","url":"https://mediabias.news/politics/former-youth-counselor-jeffrey-buskey-faces-sex-assault-trial","title":"Former youth counselor Jeffrey Buskey faces sex assault trial","subtitle":"Buskey is accused of 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault involving four boys in the late 1990s.","excerpt":"A sexual assault trial is underway in New Hampshire for former youth counselor Jeffrey Buskey, 60. He faces 21 charges related to alleged abuse of four boys at a Manchester youth detention center in the late 1990s. The case is part of a larger scandal involving over 1,100 lawsuits.","category":"Politics","area":"United States","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T18:46:22.387Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-09-14T17:01:40.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-14T18:46:22.387Z","readTime":"4 min read","scores":{"trust":70,"critic":75,"hype":15,"notes":{"trust":"The central claim is attributed to the Associated Press, and two independent outlets published full reports.","critic":"The reporting clearly separates fact from comment and includes specific details, dates, and names.","hype":"The language used is measured and proportionate, with no sensationalism or manufactured urgency."}},"tags":["#JeffreyBuskey","#SexualAssault","#NewHampshire","#YouthDetention","#AbuseScandal"],"entities":["Jeffrey Buskey","David Meehan","Youth Development Center","Sununu Youth Services Center","New Hampshire"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["Former youth counselor Jeffrey Buskey, 60, is on trial in New Hampshire facing 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault.","The charges involve four boys who were held at the Youth Development Center in Manchester during the late 1990s.","Buskey's arrest in 2019 followed more than 1,100 lawsuits alleging abuse at the facility over six decades.","One alleged victim, David Meehan, was awarded $38 million in a civil trial in May 2024, though the state disputes the amount."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"A sexual assault trial has begun in New Hampshire for Jeffrey Buskey, 60, a former youth counselor. Buskey faces 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. The allegations involve four boys who were at the Youth Development Center in Manchester during the late 1990s. The facility is now known as the Sununu Youth Services Center."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Buskey's arrest in 2019 was a result of more than 1,100 lawsuits filed by individuals alleging abuse at the center over a period of six decades. David Meehan, one of the alleged victims, received a $38 million award in a civil trial in May 2024. The state, however, disputes this amount, seeking to reduce it to $475,000."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"During his civil trial, Meehan testified that Buskey, whom he initially trusted, subjected him to near-daily rapes. Meehan was 14 when he arrived at the facility in 1995. In a police interview transcript filed in court, Buskey denied abusing Meehan, stating they had a \"great relationship\" and that he was \"always nice to the kid.\""},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Sununu Youth Services Center, which once housed over 100 children, now typically serves fewer than a dozen. Lawmakers have approved plans to close the facility and replace it with a smaller building. Several other former workers have faced criminal proceedings, with some convicted and others awaiting trial or having charges dropped."},{"type":"heading","text":"Disagreement on civil award amount"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Independent and WPLG report that a jury awarded David Meehan $38 million in May 2024, though the state disputes the amount and seeks to reduce it to $475,000. The other reports do not specify the amount awarded in the civil trial or mention the state's dispute."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the right-rated digests mention the state's dispute over the $38 million civil award granted to David Meehan, nor the specific amount the state seeks to reduce it to. The right-rated digest also does not detail the broader context of over 1,100 lawsuits filed alleging abuse at the facility over six decades, nor the planned closure of the Sununu Youth Services Center."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"regionalmedianews.com","url":"https://regionalmedianews.com/news/national/ex-youth-detention-center-counselor-faces-sex-assault-trial-in-new-hampshire","headline":"Ex-youth detention center counselor faces sex assault trial in New Hampshire - Regional Media News","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T17:01:40.000Z"},{"sourceName":"PressNewsAgency","url":"https://pressnewsagency.org/ex-youth-detention-center-counselor-faces-sex-assault-trial-in-new-hampshire","headline":"Ex-youth detention center counselor faces sex assault trial in New Hampshire","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T15:23:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Independent","url":"https://independent.co.uk/news/new-hampshire-manchester-associated-press-b3049974.html","headline":"Ex-youth detention center counselor faces sex assault trial in New Hampshire","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T15:15:04.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Independent (US)","url":"https://the-independent.com/news/new-hampshire-manchester-associated-press-b3049974.html","headline":"Ex-youth detention center counselor faces sex assault trial in New Hampshire","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T15:15:04.000Z"},{"sourceName":"WHDH","url":"https://whdh.com/news/ex-youth-detention-center-counselor-faces-sex-assault-trial-in-new-hampshire","headline":"Ex-youth detention center counselor faces sex assault trial in New Hampshire - 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