A former counselor who was accused of grooming and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl inside New Hampshire’s youth detention system two decades ago will not face a third trial after state prosecutors announced they would drop his criminal charges.
Victor Malavet was the first person to go on trial after state prosecutors launched a sweeping criminal investigation into decades of alleged sexual and physical abuse inside the former Youth Development Center (YDC) and other youth facilities run or contracted by the state. Malavet was one of 11 former employees charged criminally with sexually assaulting minors who had been ordered to live in these secure facilities in the 1990s and 2000s.
The state's decision to drop the charges against Malavet come as fresh allegations of physical abuse by staff at the former YDC, now known as the Sununu Youth Services Center, have given rise to a new round of investigations both inside and out of state government.
Malavet was accused of repeatedly raping then-16-year-old Natasha Maunsell in 2001 inside a Concord residential center where he served as a counselor. He was arrested in 2021 as prosecutors began to investigate what would grow to more than 2,200 people who claim they were abused as minors while held in these facilities.
During his first and second trials, both of which ended in hung juries, Malavet’s attorney said Maunsell fabricated her claims in order to receive financial compensation as part of a sprawling network of civil cases, and that he was innocent.
In a statement this week, Malavet’s public defenders said he was “deeply relieved by the State’s decision not to move forward with a third trial. This has been an incredibly long and difficult journey for him and his family.”
Malavet’s first trial was held in 2024, marking the state’s initial attempt to hold anyone accountable for alleged abuse inside the former YDC) and related facilities. That trial ended in a hung jury. In February, a Merrimack County jury again failed to reach a verdict, leading to a mistrial.
On Tuesday, the state notified the court that it was dropping the 12 separate sexual assault charges.
“After consulting with the victim and reviewing the case with the trial team, the New Hampshire Department of Justice has made the difficult decision not to pursue a third trial,” a department spokesperson said. “This is not a decision we reach lightly.”
Prosecutors said they still believe in the evidence proving Malavet’s alleged conduct, but that the passage of time between the offense and the charges remains a hurdle.
“We support Natasha and are inspired by her bravery and honesty about the abuse inflicted on her by the perpetrator,” attorney David Vicinanzo, who represents Maunsell, said Thursday. “We are similarly inspired by all the courageous survivors who have told the truth about the abuse tolerated and created by the state’s shameful lack of care over more than 40 years.”
Read more: New scrutiny of NH's youth detention center focuses on physical restraint, military-style training
The outcome of the Malavet case is another setback for the state’s criminal investigation into YDC abuse.
Of the 11 former state employees originally charged, just three have been found guilty. Five others were either found not guilty, not competent to stand trial, or had the charges against them dropped. Additional cases are still pending against four men.
The historic allegations of abuse at YDC and related facilities spanned several decades and spawned an avalanche of civil lawsuits. To date, more than 2,200 people have requested financial damages through a state-run settlement fund that has so far paid out more than $150 million to victims.
Listen: The Youth Development Center
David Meehan, who was the first victim to have his case heard in civil court, was awarded $38 million in damages by a jury after he described years of rapes at the hands of staff at YDC. But a judge lowered his award to just $475,000, citing a law that caps the state’s civil liability to that amount per incident. The New Hampshire Supreme Court is now reviewing that ruling and could reinstate the full payout, a decision that could reshape how other alleged victims pursue compensation.
NHPR's Jason Moon contributed reporting.
