Teen who killed herself had been abused by treatment center worker

Molly Ball

Friday, April 15, 2005 | 2:55 a.m.

The teenage girl who killed herself at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center on Monday had previously been sexually abused at a juvenile treatment center that was under contract with the state at the time, according to her family, her lawyer and court documents.

The family of 16-year-old Brittany Kish had been planning to file a lawsuit against the Spring Mountain Treatment Center in about two weeks, the girl's mother and her lawyer said. Lynette Kish said she believes the sexual assault was what drove her troubled daughter off the edge emotionally, to a point from which she couldn't return.

"We've had a hard time with Brittany for a long time," Lynette Kish said. The girl was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 9, Kish said. "But after Spring Mountain, that's when we lost her for good."

According to court records, former Spring Mountain employee Barry Bergmann pleaded guilty in February 2004 to statutory sexual assault and child abuse and was sentenced to two to 10 years in prison for the incident that occurred in October 2003.

The family was suing the treatment center, alleging negligent hiring and supervision, attorney Arthur Flangas said.

Kish said the family is confused and upset by the circumstances of Brittany's death. How was she able to strangle herself with a sheet in her cell when she was on suicide watch?

"We don't understand what happened," Kish said. "We just want some answers."

Brittany was not new to the juvenile detention center. Because of her illness, the girl was frequently in and out of the justice system for things like shoplifting, running away and even assaulting her parents, Kish said.

"Brittany's always had problems, and we've always done everything we could to get her help," Kish said. "Juvie was a safe place for her to go, and then we could get her back and start over."

Kish described her daughter as outgoing, creative and full of laughter "when she was Brittany" -- when her disorder didn't take over. She charmed people instantly; she constantly told jokes. She wrote poetry that she published on the Internet.

But she also swung far in the other direction. Last month, Lynette Kish and her fiance, Jim Coppla, found Brittany submerged in a bathtub full of blood. The girl spent 10 days at the Montevista psychiatric hospital.

When she came out with a new medication regimen, Brittany started fresh yet again. She got a job at a fast-food restaurant and started setting up a home-schooling program. She seemed happy and stable, her mother said.

Kish's last memory of her daughter is of the two of them singing karaoke about two weeks ago, exuberantly hamming it up.

"She couldn't carry a tune, but she was singing her heart out," Kish said. "She was just being Brittany."

But on April 2, Brittany ran away again. On Monday morning, Kish found her at home and called her parole officer, and she was picked up and taken to the detention center.

Brittany wasn't out of control -- she wasn't throwing a tantrum like she sometimes did. She was calm, but Kish knew she needed to be watched. And so did the detention center: She was placed on suicide watch upon her admission to detention at 12:30 p.m., detention center officials said.

Kirby Burgess, director of the county's Juvenile Justice Services, has said that the facility's policies and procedures are being reviewed.

The death is also being investigated by the Child Fatality Review Committee, which looks at all deaths of minors to see if they could have been prevented.

"I am heartbroken over this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with the family," Burgess said in a statement. Juvenile justice officials' first concern is "to make sure that we are doing all that we can to prevent any future tragedies," he said.

Brittany's suicide was the first in the juvenile detention center since March 1976. Kish said that fact makes her think something went wrong in Brittany's case.

"If this hasn't happened in 29 years, they know how to prevent it," she said. "Maybe somebody just got lazy or somebody didn't give a s---."

Somehow, Brittany evaded the detention workers' monitoring. She reportedly managed to knot a sheet around the door and the toilet, fashioning a makeshift but effective noose. When Brittany had been on suicide watch before, her sheets were taken away, Kish said.

"She had sheets in there. You don't leave that stuff with a kid who's on suicide watch -- you can't," Kish said.

"I know she had problems. Maybe she was going to do this anywhere," Kish added. "But she shouldn't have been able to do it in there."