Six More Men Allege Sexual Abuse By Former OYA Doctor at MacLaren
- Dignity 4Patients
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
By Isabel Funk- Salem Statesman Journal- 24/10/2025- [Edward Gary Edwards]- [Oregon, US]
Six more men have accused the Oregon Youth Authority of ignoring sexual abuse they say they experienced from a doctor as youth incarcerated at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 10 in federal court, brings the total number of individuals who have filed lawsuits against OYA in 2025 to at least 68 and the total number of lawsuits to at least 10.
The plaintiffs in this lawsuit and the previous allege they were sexually abused by Edward Gary Edwards, a former doctor at MacLaren, who died in February. Nine current and former officials and 15 unknown staff members are also named in the lawsuit.
Dozens of men have filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually abused while incarcerated as youth at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility.
Edwards was the sole doctor at MacLaren from the late 1990s through at least 2017. The lawsuits allege he was known among youth and staff as "Dr. Cold Fingers" because of his notoriety for abusing youth.
“This case isn’t just about one doctor; it’s about a system that chose silence over protection," lawyer Norah Van Dusen said in a news release. "The people in charge had every opportunity to intervene and didn’t. These survivors are demanding accountability not just for what was done to them, but for the decades of coverups that followed.”
OYA oversees about 900 youths aged 12-24 who were convicted of committing crimes before they turned 18. It has five correctional facilities and four transitional facilities. MacLaren is the largest facility with about 180 male youths.
The lawsuit seeks damages to be determined at trial. Previous lawsuits have brought the total sought by plaintiffs alleging they were abused by Edwards to about $330 million.
The men in the latest lawsuit were as young as 13 and alleged abuse between 2001 and 2011.
Several said they only realized what they had experienced was abuse and that OYA should have stopped it after they saw news articles published this year about Edwards.
OYA spokesperson Will Howell provided the same statement the agency has previously provided in response to the lawsuits.
"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," he said. "Oregonians can count on OYA to act swiftly and decisively when individuals undermine our work."
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 case isn’t just about one doctor; it’s about a system that chose silence over protection," survivors demand accountability not just for what was done to them, but for the systemic failures that allowed it to continue to be covered-up for decades.
