Psychologist Known as 'Big Foot' Allegedly Raped Teen Dozens of Times at N.Y. Youth Detention Center: Complaint

A New York teenager was allegedly raped dozens of times by his psychologist while incarcerated at a youth detention center, all while staff at the center joked about it, he said in a lawsuit.

The unnamed plaintiff, who is now 21, was 17 when the alleged sexual abuse began at Brookwood Youth Facility, a center for minors under the age of 16 who had convictions for violent felonies.

The accused psychologist, Maya Hayes, also faces 65 criminal sex abuse charges after a Columbia County grand jury indicted her in 2024 for allegedly abusing eight victims between the ages of 16 and 18 from 2020 to 2022, according to the Times-Union of Albany. 

Hayes pleaded not guilty and was released pending her trial, which is set to take place in July. 

A lawyer representing Hayes declined to comment on the case to PEOPLE.

The complaint, which was obtained by PEOPLE, names 23 current and former employees at Brookwood Youth Facility as defendants, alleging they failed to prevent the alleged abuse from happening.

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In the complaint, the plaintiff claims he was abused by Hayes 30 times until she was fired in December 2022. 

Hayes allegedly began abusing the plaintiff in August 2021, three months after he arrived at Brookwood Youth Facility, the complaint states. 

The plaintiff accuses Hayes of putting pictures on the windows of her door as a way to block the view into her office so she could be hidden from view as she sexually assaulted him, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, Hayes “groomed and manipulated the plaintiff into trusting that what she was doing had some basis in legitimate care and treatment.” Then, she “subjected plaintiff to a course of predatory grooming, boundary violating, mental, emotional, and physical sexual abuse,” the complaint alleges.

The complaint further alleges that staff members were aware — and made jokes about the alleged abuse. According to the complaint, Hayes was nicknamed “Big Foot” at the facility, and the staff members would allegedly ask the plaintiff, “Are you doing things with Big Foot? We see you in there with Dr. Hayes doing nasty stuff.”

The plaintiff, who is being represented by Evan Brustein and Marion Conde da Silveira, is seeking compensation for severe emotional distress, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees incurred in the litigation.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.