A lawsuit brought by a former Boys and Girls Club member against the organization after she endured years of sexual abuse by an employee has ended in a settlement.

Teegan Paul, now 22, said in the suit that Boys and Girls Club of Central New Hampshire, its executive director Chris Emond and its staff failed to prevent or stop the abuse she endured in her early teens, ignoring numerous known red flags and flouting its own policies on staff boundaries and alone time with children. She described how, between the ages of 13 and 16, she was groomed and then sexually abused by a staffer in his late 20s.

Joshua Adams, the former club employee, pleaded guilty to one of more than a dozen counts of felonious sexual assault he faced as part of an agreement with prosecutors after Paul reported the abuse to Concord police in 2018.

The suit asked for $17 million in damages, and for the Boys and Girls Club to fortify its policies meant to prevent abuse and for its staff to strictly adhere to their obligations as mandatory reporters. Paul also wanted Emond to resign.

The settlement agreement and its details are confidential; court records indicate the suit was dismissed following the agreement near the end of the summer.

An attorney for Paul, Kirk Simoneau, confirmed that the suit had been settled but declined to provide a statement, citing the confidentiality of the suit.

In its response to the suit, the club said it was not responsible for the abuse, either denying it or saying it was still internally investigating the vast majority of Paul’s claims of negligence.

The club and Emond also confirmed the settlement and reiterated previous comments about commitment to the safety of club members in a written statement.

“Crimes of abuse run counter to everything our mission stands for – no harm should come to any child under any circumstance,” the statement reads, echoing previous ones issued.

thoughts remain with the individual affected and their family.”

Paul, now a Loudon resident, finds strength through childcare work and has her sights set on becoming an occupational therapist. She told the Monitor in March that she hopes to empower other survivors by showing them they do not have to be made to hide.

Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com.