Monroe County, PA — William R. Seese II, now 37, has come forward with disturbing allegations against Monroe County Children & Youth Services (C&Y), claiming the agency — and one supervisor in particular — not only ignored his pleas for help as a teenager, but knowingly placed him in abusive settings that left lasting trauma.
In a series of documents, personal statements, and correspondence reviewed by NEPA Media Group, Seese alleges that Mary Bull, then a supervisor at Monroe County C&Y, failed to intervene as he reported escalating abuse in his foster home and instead responded with punitive measures. He was 17 at the time.
“Mary Bull punished me instead of hearing my cries for help,” Seese wrote in a detailed letter earlier this year. “They didn’t offer me care — they offered me a prison for boys.”
According to Seese, Bull authorized his arrest inside a high school classroom, a moment he describes as humiliating and traumatic. From there, he says he was sent to a psychiatric facility, then transferred to St. Michael’s School for Boys in Tunkhannock — a residential treatment facility (RTF) where Seese says he experienced emotional and physical abuse.
“I was locked in padded rooms while being mocked by staff, and sent to a foster home on weekends where I was exploited,” he told NEPA Media Group. “I had no family. C&Y knew that. They knew I had already been through more trauma than most adults face in a lifetime — but instead of protection, they gave me punishment.”
St. Michael’s, operated by the Catholic Diocese of Scranton, was founded in the early 1900s as a placement for boys with behavioral or legal issues. The school closed permanently in the early 2000s. While some former residents have described supportive experiences, others — including Seese — allege serious abuse, including sexual assault, organized fights between children, and physical beatings by staff.
A 2021 blog post about the sale of the former St. Michael’s property includes multiple firsthand accounts alleging sexual abuse, staff misconduct, and violent conditions stretching back decades. One commenter wrote that the school was “shut down for child molestation in ’98 — then re-opened even worse.” Another recalled “hearing kids cry as they were molested by 18-year-old gangsters,” while staff turned a blind eye.
Seese says he reported concerns at the time, but was ignored. He also alleges that the weekend foster home he was placed in included a foster parent who propositioned him and may have exploited other youth. He blames C&Y for inadequate oversight and a failure to vet placements.
While parts of Seese’s broader trauma history involve time in New Jersey’s foster care system and abuse he experienced during his military service under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era, he identifies Monroe County C&Y as the pivotal moment — not just because of what happened, but because he says they knew and failed to act.
“They were aware of the trauma from my father, because they removed me from him. They knew I was in survival mode. And still, they treated me like a criminal,” he wrote. “They had the power to offer me care, therapy, support. Instead, they sent me to an institution.”
Seese says he cycled through more than two dozen foster placements, many of them chaotic or abusive. In 2005, shortly after graduating high school and just shy of his 18th birthday, Seese says he was given an ultimatum: return to the abusive parent he’d previously been removed from, or enlist in the military. With no family, housing, or financial stability, he chose what felt like the only viable path forward — the military — and shipped out in October 2005, just before turning 18.
A letter from a licensed psychologist who treated Seese between 2017 and 2023 confirms a long history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), including sexual abuse, neglect, and early substance use — all compounded by the absence of trauma-informed care.
“He noted to me having had ‘too many’ foster home placements to even be able to count but believed that it was ‘upwards of 25,’” Dr. Silverman wrote. “Had he received proper trauma-informed care, the likelihood of sustaining a military career might have been vastly different.”
Seese is now seeking access to his full child welfare case file and says he plans to file formal complaints with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and the federal Department of Health and Human Services. He is also exploring legal action. However, he says attorneys have so far declined the case, citing potential statute of limitations issues.
Recent changes to Pennsylvania law — including a temporary window for survivors of child sexual abuse to file civil claims — may offer a path forward. But Seese says he’s no longer waiting for a legal green light.
“I want this story told,” he says. “I want pressure and accountability. I want people to know what happened to me — not just in New Jersey or the military, but right here in Monroe County, under the people who were supposed to protect me.”
Monroe County Children & Youth has not responded to a request for comment. It’s unclear whether any staff from that time period, including those named by Seese, remain with the agency today. Pennsylvania law does not require county child welfare agencies to retain case files indefinitely, so records related to Seese’s case may no longer exist.
Seese is currently writing a memoir titled The Squeaky Wheel, under the pseudonym Jaxon Rourke. He says he hopes his story will help drive change — not just for himself, but for others who feel they were failed by the system.
“This isn’t just about me,” he says. “It’s about every kid who’s been failed by a broken system — and told that their pain didn’t matter.”
If you were a former resident of St. Michael’s School or were placed in foster care through Monroe County CYS and have a story to share, we want to hear from you. Please reach out to john.galt@nepamedia.net with your experience. Your identity will remain confidential unless you give explicit permission to be named.