Update: My Assault by Frank Davis and Evidence of a Cover-up Through Mishandled Samples

*Content Warning*: This update contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse and trauma, which may be triggering for some readers.

Dear Supporters,

My name is David Meehan and I am going to share some deeply personal information in a way I have not done publicly before.

In doing so, I will not only expose some horrific abuse I suffered at the NH YDC but also the state’s role in covering it up through mishandled medical samples, bad-faith legal tactics, and a pattern of protecting abusers over survivors.

From December 12, 1996, until sometime mid-to-late January 1997, I was held in solitary confinement—called “Out of Community” or OOC—at King Cottage, YDC, after being returned from AWOL on 12/12/96.

 I was kept in a bare cell with a thin green mattress, a pillow with no pillowcase, and a thin blanket, stripped to white underwear with no clothes. The cell had a steel slab bed, a stainless steel sink-toilet combo, and a heavily screened window that further obscured any view I may have had of the outside world.

The cell had a steel slab bed, a stainless steel sink-toilet combo, and a heavily screened window that blocked out the dark, cold world outside. A thick steel door with a 5-inch window locked automatically, controlled by staff in the “bubble” who could unlock it with a button or key. The air smelled of AJAX and “state soap,” a harsh reminder of my isolation.

This was just one part of a “living hell” at YDC, where I endured multiple rapes, beatings, isolation, and a culture of silence that enabled widespread abuse.

Sometimes between Christmas Day 1996 and New Years—really hard to say as the days and nights blended together—Frank Davis entered my cell, claiming he needed to conduct a contraband search. Dick Brown, a 350-pound staffer with tattoos on his forearms, held the door to keep it from locking, ensuring that Frank wouldn’t be trapped inside with me.

I felt an excruciating burning pain as Davis raped me. I turned back and saw Brown watching with a sickly, disturbing look of satisfaction on his face. Then they just left, leaving me broken and numb.

About a week later, I noticed green stains in my underwear and burning pain when I urinated, which worsened over days. I told a nurse, “I think Frank…” but she brushed it off, neglecting any treatment at the time. This reflects the code of silence later described by former YDC staff in trial testimony last April.

A few days later I was sent to the infirmary at Cox Cottage, where a woman I’d never seen before inserted a large Q-tip-like swab into my and collected a urine sample. She looked at the sample, we both saw strange things floating in it, and exclaimed, “That’s gonorrhea.”

Medical records back up my account but also reveal a disturbing coverup. A lab report shows a sample was taken from me on January 14, 1997, for STD testing, but it was only received by the New Hampshire Public Health Laboratory on January 15, 1998—a full year later. Even worse, the lab tested for Chlamydia, which was negative, but never for gonorrhea (which I’ve learned recently is a completely separate test) despite the woman’s clear diagnosis of gonorrhea.

This mishandling of my sample—delayed processing and incorrect testing—suggests either gross negligence or an intentional effort to hide evidence of widespread abuse at YDC.

A medication order confirms I was prescribed Doxycycline and Rocephin—antibiotics that were commonly used together as treatment for gonorrhea—on January 15, 1997.

A physician note from Dr. W. documents my “discharge from – burning” and anxiety/depression, reflecting the physical and emotional toll of the abuse I endured at YDC.

In late 2017, shortly after the state police began their investigation into my allegations, they spoke with Frank Davis. An investigator told me Davis had no problem driving an hour each way to meet her and that he had “admitted without admitting” to abusing kids while employed at YDC.

The state charged Davis In 2021 but delayed his case for years, ultimately dropping the charges in May 2024 because he’s “incompetent” to stand trial at 82. This convenient timing, especially after his 2017 capability, shows how the state manipulates justice to protect abusers, part of a broader pattern to avoid accountability for systemic abuse at YDC.

Yet, his “incompetency” only arose in 2023 when my attorneys attempted to depose him—a process covered by news articles—suggesting the state used this as a tactic to shield him from accountability.

During my civil trial in April 2024, the state tried to discredit me by claiming I contracted the STD from my then-girlfriend (now wife) Erin while I was AWOL before 12/12/96. But my symptoms started in early January 1997, about a week after the assault by Davis, matching the gonorrhea incubation period (2–14 days) for that exposure, not an earlier one.

If I had contracted it from Erin before 12/12/96, symptoms would have appeared by mid-to-late December, not the first week or so of January. The state refused to subpoena Erin’s medical records or let her testify, even though they had previously deposed her and had her sequestered because she was on their witness list. Keeping her out of the courtroom for the entire procedure, further limiting any love or direct support I desperately needed while going through that trial.—Why? Because they knew the truth points to Davis and YDC’s negligence.

YDC knew about Davis—he was reprimanded, as we’ve seen with other staff—but let him continue working, enabling my abuse and that of countless others. The state’s cover-up just in this instance alone spans decades: mishandling evidence in 1997–1998, delaying justice for Davis, dropping his charges in 2024, and using bad-faith tactics in my trial to protect themselves rather than survivors.

This is the beast system at work, using slow justice, economic exclusion, and character assassination to shield abusers while survivors like me fight for truth.

Thank you. I think I’m gonna be sick.

P.s. I have added images to the gallery. You can swipe through them starting with the main image at the top of this page. Please - see the evidence for yourselves.