OAKLAND PARK, FLA. (WSVN) - A family is seeking justice and taking legal action after, they said, their son was sexually assaulted by another patient in a mental health facility in Oakland Park.
Nineteen-year-old Alijah Martinez was admitted to Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center in 2021. The patient was 15 at the time of the incident, his family told 7News on Thursday.
Alijah said he has been focused on moving on with his life and making a career out of producing electronic music, with performances in South Florida and New York City.
However, Alijah said, he still deals with physical and emotional trauma from the past. Since the alleged incident, he has undergone additional therapeutic care to address the additional trauma.
“I went there for help from existing trauma that I had and other mental health issues and I left with more issues than what I came in with,” he said.
Now, his family has filed a lawsuit against the health facility.
“Our lawsuit seeks to hold the hospital accountable,” Sue-Ann Robinson, the family’s attorney, said. “Families who entrust them with their kids in a very vulnerable situation, the trust has been broken for this family.”
According to the lawsuit, Alijah entered the center on Oct. 23, 2021 and was given medication and that he “felt groggy and lethargic.” While in his room “still under the influence of prescription medication, the other male patient sexually assaulted him.”
The lawsuit claims the center should be held accountable for “failure to provide requisite security and adequately monitor the minor patients.” The family is demanding meaningful reforms to protect vulnerable children in behavioral health facilities.
“It’s horrible what happened to my son, and it seems like no one cares,” Alijah’s mother, Anilda Martinez, said.
Anilda said she immediately reported the incident to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, but authorities, in an incident report from 2021, determined the alleged sexual assault to be a “consensual sexual altercation” after interviewing both teens.
Alijah said that was not the case.
His mother said, after she believed authorities and the health center chose not to take action, she chose to take matters into her own hands with the lawsuit. She also encouraged other parents to do the same.
“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to report it, don’t be afraid to get help, don’t be afraid to get justice for them,” said Anilda. “They deserve that.”
7News reached out the Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center for a statement and the facility responded with “no comment.”
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