More men file suit against Oregon Youth Authority over alleged abuse from former doctor
- Dignity 4Patients
- Dec 20, 2025
- 3 min read
By Dianne Lugo- 20/12/2025- Salam Statesman Journal- [Oregon, USA]- [Edward Gary Edwards]
Another 14 men have filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Youth Authority, accusing the agency of ignoring repeated claims that a longtime physician at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn was sexually abusing incarcerated youth.
At least 82 individuals in 11 lawsuits have now filed claims against OYA in 2025.
The complaint, filed Dec. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, accuses the same former doctor, Edward Gary Edwards, of years of sexual abuse. Edwards died in February and was the sole doctor at MacLaren from the late 1990s through at least 2017.
The lawsuits allege that youth and staff referred to Edwards as "Dr. Cold Fingers" because of his notoriety for abusing youth.
“This lawsuit shows what happens when warnings are ignored for decades,” said Benjamin Gauen, attorney with the law firm Schroeter Goldmark & Bender in a news release. “Youth reported harm. Staff joked about it. Leadership looked away. For more than 40 years, OYA allowed a physician to exploit vulnerable boys and young men, even as complaints mounted in plain sight.”
MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility is OYA’s largest juvenile detention center, providing rehabilitation and education for youth in Woodburn.
The 14 new plaintiffs were incarcerated at OYA facilities between 1989 and 2021, according to the complaint. One of the men was placed into the custody of OYA and at MacLaren when he was 14 years old.
Former and current OYA staff, as well as 15 "unknown staffers," are also named in the new lawsuit. Their alleged acts, and failures to act, "enabled Edwards' abuse to persist for decades," the complaint said.
The complaint said MacLaren staff repeatedly joked about Edwards and would threaten to send incarcerated youth to Edwards if they disobeyed. The lawsuits claim the youth reported Edwards to staff and counselors as early as 1999.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
OYA provided the same statement it had shared previously.
"The alleged conduct is abhorrent, and the accusations do not reflect what thousands of trusted adults do each day to help OYA youth become crime-free adults," the statement said. "Oregonians can count on OYA to act swiftly and decisively when individuals undermine our work."
Attorneys representing the men are encouraging any others with information about Edwards or the Oregon Youth Authority to contact their firms, Schroeter Goldmark & Bender or Levi Merrithew Horst. The two firms now represent 23 men alleging abuse while in OYA custody.
OYA currently oversees about 900 youths aged 12-24 who were convicted of committing crimes before they turned 18. The agency has five correctional facilities and four transitional facilities. MacLaren is its largest facility with about 180 male youths. There are currently around 160 youths there.
Former Colorado State Board of Parole director Michael Tessean assumed the role of OYA director on Aug. 18 after being appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek. Former director Joe O'Leary was fired by Kotek in March after he was placed on paid leave in February, following a Department of Administrative Services investigation that found he had known about and was unwilling to or unable to address issues with the Professional Standards Office. The office is charged with investigating sexual abuse, misconduct and other complaints.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm.
Dignity4Patients Commentary: “This lawsuit shows what happens when warnings are ignored for decades"; when sexual abuse is reported it is imperative that the allegations are taken seriously and protocols followed to ensure that repeated offending does not reoccur. This case highlights an abhorrent disregard for youth reporting crimes exposing a systematic failure and a culture which allowed heinous sexual abuse to occur unchecked for decades.