A lawsuit has outlined alleged abuse at Wyoming Boys’ School in the United States where teens were claimed to have been strapped to chairs and isolated
Disturbing allegations have emerged from a American state correctional facility, where former students claim they were subjected to a campaign of brutal physical abuse. Six former residents of the Wyoming Boys’ School in Worland have launched a lawsuit against the institution.
They claim the facility was a hotbed of abuse where vulnerable teens were allegedly tackled, slammed and thrown into solitary confinement. The lawsuit was originally filed in February 2024 against the school and the Wyoming Department of Families.
It has now escalated after three plaintiffs, Blaise Chivers-King, Charles “Rees” Karn, and Dylan Tola, submitted a response packed with video footage and photographs of the alleged mistreatment.
One image put forward in the legal filing reportedly shows a shirtless Karn pinned down, strapped to a chair by his wrists and ankles, with a hood pulled over his head. Another photo shows a boy seemingly cowering in fear in the corner of a solitary confinement cell.
According to the legal documents, guards took a sadistic pleasure in using the restraint chairs. One staff member allegedly boasted: “The best part of the chair is watching the kids cry and scream like a f**king child … that’s what makes it worth it.”
The plaintiffs paint a grim picture of daily life inside the facility for anyone who fell foul of the law after 2018. They claim boys were bound in restraints for “up to eight hours a day” and left to weep.
The lawsuit outlines a laundry list of alleged abuses, claiming that boys were subjected to excessive force by being left in restraint chairs for long periods and slammed by staff when they were not resisting.
The group also alleges a culture of medical neglect, claiming their healthcare needs were ignored and that some teens were thrown into solitary confinement directly after self-harming.
Furthermore, they accuse the school of actively covering up the abuse, stating that “The (staffers’) logbooks had large gaps in documentation, inaccurate entries, uncertain authorship and no verification mechanism.”
In one testimony, Karn claimed a staff member shoved his head directly into broken glass before pinning him down – an allegation the staff member strenuously denies.
The defendants, including current and former employees, have fiercely denied all the claims and filed a counter-motion to throw the case out of court.
The state has fired back at the plaintiffs’ character profiles. Officials pointed out that Karn is currently serving a life sentence for the 2023 murder of his girlfriend.
They claim he was highly disruptive at the school, allegedly attacking a peer with a shower head and making bomb threats on Facebook.
Regarding another minor plaintiff, known only as “DH”, the state argues he was isolated for refusing to follow orders.
However, DH’s legal response said: “The behaviours for which DH was punished were obvious symptoms of his disabilities.”
The state maintains that its staff only acted in response to dangerous behaviour, asserting there is no “evidence plaintiffs were discriminated against ‘by reason of’ their disabilities; rather, the record shows WBS staff’s actions were based on plaintiffs’ conduct.”
A judge will now review the evidence to decide whether the case will head to a full trial or be dismissed.