The father of a man who filed a lawsuit alleging abuse at the Youth Development Center in the 1990s testified Tuesday about being investigated by state protection workers on allegations of abuse in the family home in the 1990s.
“There was nothing found,” Daniel Meehan testified.
Daniel Meehan took the stand at Rockingham County Superior Court in a civil lawsuit filed by his son David Meehan in 2020. The senior Meehan was the first to take the stand for the defense, after being subpoenaed.
David Meehan, 42, alleges the state failed in its duty to protect him and was guilty of negligence at YDC in Manchester, which later became known as the Sununu Youth Services Center complex. The state says it shouldn’t be held responsible for the rogue actions of several workers.
Earlier in the trial, David Meehan testified about his mother putting out cigarettes on his body, but his father offered different information.
“We didn’t smoke,” Daniel Meehan told Assistant Attorney General Brandon Chase.
Chase also asked about David Meehan’s childhood activities, which included Cub Scouts and playing T-ball and later basketball. The father testified that his son served as the best man when he remarried in 2016.
Chase quickly started asking about the plaintiff’s counseling history, including a stay at the Philbrook Center for Children.
Chase asked the father, Daniel Meehan, if his son had a “reputation for untruthfulness.”
“Yes,” the father replied.
David Meehan’s attorney, David Vicinanzo, responded by saying his client used drugs to cope with PTSD from his abuse.
“You’ve heard the expression, the drugs talking?” Vicinanzo asked.
Daniel Meehan acknowledged he did, and knew of his son’s drug use.
As part of his testimony, which lasted three days, David Meehan testified about physical and sexual abuse while he was incarcerated at the center as a 14-year-old.
He got in trouble with the law at age 13 after his parents pressed charges against him. He said his mother put out a cigarette on his face and he kicked her to the ground.
“Their words over my words. I have fresh wounds on my face that the DCYF investigator could have seen, should have seen, and refused to report,” the plaintiff testified.
Vicinanzo spoke about how Meehan wanted to stay at Philbrook instead of returning home and mentioned a report from a psychologist.
“He says that, ‘David feels that his most serious childhood problems are related to the fact that his parents physically abused him,’” the lawyer said.
The father said he was unaware of the report.
As for the cigarette marks, Vicinanzo mentioned Daniel Meehan’s long hours as a firefighter. In a sensitive moment, Vicinanzo asked about Daniel Meehan not knowing about his ex-wife having extramarital affairs, including with a good friend.
Daniel Meehan testified about missing many nights, birthdays and holidays because of his career.
“You didn’t know everything that was going on at home, right?” Vicinanzo asked.
