History of abuse at Sunmount Developmental Center overlooked.

There have been cases of abuse reported at Sunmount Developmental Center in Tupper Lake, New York that have gone unsolved over the years. Abuse is a contentious issue. In many cases, cases of abuse go unsolved. Sunmount Developmental Center is no exception. It was not all good with parents of the residents that resided in this institution.

Sunmount Developmental Center suffers from a high amount of injury from staff onto residents. Staff often assaults the residents that live here. There is also a high injury rate amongst residents. Many residents aren’t adequately fed. The mentally and physically disabled go through enough on their own.

In the 1970s, a handful of cases regarding abuse appeared in newspapers such as Rochester Times, The Tribune, Buffalo Times, and Watertown Daily Times (Watertown Daily). Parents raised concern about questionable treatment practices on residents.


During an interview with Watertown Daily Times in June 1973, former resident John Boyer recalled the only  marked abuse he saw was when he lining up with his ward mates to get their teeth brushed. “When they'd line us up to brush our teeth. If anybody was talking, the attendant would come down the line slapping us all in the face." 

The routine punishments consisted of "walking the halls" by having the residents walk in a long continual line about the wards until they were quiet. Attendants would get the noisy residents "walking the halls" by having the residents walk in a long line around the wards until they were quiet. This way attendants could assure residents kept quiet.

John Boyer witnessed residents being straight-jacketed to air heaters along ward walls. Slaps to the face occurred on a monthly basis. Dental care was poor and skin infections were rampant.

In another case of abuse, the parents of Pat Burns noticed the body of their own son had questionable scars and bruises when visiting him at Sunmount State School. They began noticing scars on Pat’s neck. No official answers were ever give as to how Pat obtained scars on his neck. How the bruises got there are questionable.  "They told us Pat was not a 'fighter' and other boys picked on him." Mrs. Burns said.

The Burnses photographed their son's neck and complained to the school authorities. After his parents complained, Pat was put into isolation as administration at the school decided this was a solution. He remained in an isolation ward for an extended period of time.

Pat's parents also noticed their son had developed a fear of older men, which led Mrs. Burns to suspect he may have been abused by school attendants. They also noticed he had a fear of stairs. Now 65 years old, Pat Burns is still afraid of stairs and unable to walk down them. 
(Ref: Watertown Daily Times, Page 13, June 1973)

According to Adkins family and from an internal report provided to The Times by the family,
Sunmount Developmental Center resident Eddie Adkins was set upon by several staff members after he grew upset that he was not allowed to go to the bathroom. A melee soon ensued by four state four state employees punching Eddie Adkins while he was sitting on a couch.

A deaf resident nearby told state investigators that he saw four state employees punching Eddie Adkins while he was sitting on a couch. He was so disturbed that he turned his hearing aid off during the melee. The assault took place in October 2011 when the staffers took down a male resident in the dining hall.

Two former employees of the Sunmount Developmental Center were sentenced to jail stemming from an October 2013 cover-up on the date of December 6, 2016. Jessica Rice and Suzanne Decheine assaulted an 18-year-old resident and gave him a head injury, which resulted into a seizure and a concussion. Both Jessica Rice and Suzanne Decheine covered this up from their superiors.