Arkansas man granted commutation by Trump faces lawsuit alleging 'systematic and widespread' abuse
Donald Trump issued a long list of pardons and commutations to right-wing allies when he was in office. One of them came in 2019, when Trump granted a commutation to Ted Suhl — the Arkansas-based owner of the Lord's Ranch who had been convicted on federal bribery charges in 2016.
The Lord's Ranch, a youth treatment center, closed after Suhl's conviction. Now, Suhl is, according to the Associated Press (AP), facing a lawsuit from former Lord's Ranch residents who allege they suffered "systematic and widespread" sexual abuse there.
"The lawsuit against Suhl and others claims the unnamed residents were victims of repeated sexual abuse and rape by an employee of the facility, describing the abuse in graphic detail," AP reports. "The employee, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, had not been charged by police with abuse."
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The lawsuit alleges, "Children at the Lord's lived in constant fear, knowing that they were alone in a remote, unfamiliar environment far from home and at the complete mercy of a sadistic staff. For many children, survival meant compliance with the physical and sexual abuse."
Suhl was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after his conviction, but he was released three years later after Trump commuted his sentence to time served. Trump, however, didn't grand Suhl a full pardon.
Read The Associated Press' full report at this link.
