KidsPeace: State Police Report 12-year-old Patient Hospitalized After Assault by Other Patients

January 20, 2022

A 12-year-old girl was assaulted Tuesday at the KidsPeace youth facility in North Whitehall Township, state police said.

Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem at 9 p.m. Tuesday responded to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township for the reported assault. Police say it took place at psychiatric hospital on the KidsPeace Orchard Hills Campus, 5330 Kidspeace Drive, but the non-profit organization didn’t report it. A news release from state police didn’t indicate why.

Ten other juvenile girls were reportedly involved in the assault, according to state police. The news release did not specify what injuries the victim suffered.

The incident remains under investigation, said Trooper First Class Nathan T. Branosky, public information officer for Troop M.

Robert Martin, spokesman for KidsPeace, said in a prepared statement that KidsPeace does not comment on the care of specific clients due to privacy regulations, but that it is the nonprofit’s established policy to contact authorities when a client is transported from the campus by ambulance.

“We are looking into how the policy was followed in this particular situation, and what steps need to be taken to ensure our staff maintains good communication with the authorities for the protection of our clients going forward,” Martin said.

KidsPeace offers mental health services for children, including treatment programs, residential treatment programs and a psychiatric hospital.

Source: Pamela Sroka-Holzmann, “12-year-old reportedly attacked by group of 10 juveniles at KidsPeace, cops say,” LehighValleyLive.com, Jan. 19, 2022, URL: https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2022/01/12-year-old-reportedly-attacked-by-group-of-10-juveniles-at-kidspeace-cops-say.html