Virginia State Police said a second sexual assault investigation tied to Hallmark Youthcare remains open.
GOOCHLAND COUNTY, VA — A teenager has been charged with sexually assaulting another juvenile resident at Hallmark Youthcare, an adolescent psychiatric residential treatment center in Goochland County, Virginia State Police said.
The charge stems from an alleged assault in April 2025 at the private facility, which provides residential psychiatric treatment for children and adolescents with serious emotional and behavioral needs. State police also are investigating a separate sexual assault report from May 2025 at the same facility. The case adds new pressure to Hallmark Youthcare after earlier state inspections found repeated safety and supervision violations.
Authorities have not released the name, age or gender of the juvenile charged because the case involves minors. Police also have not identified the alleged victim or described the specific charge in detail. The reported April assault became public as Hallmark Youthcare continued to answer questions about how residents are supervised inside the facility. A second investigation tied to a May 2025 sexual assault call remained open as of this week. Hallmark Youthcare said in a written statement that “nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of the children and adolescents entrusted in our care.” The facility said staff members operate under clinical and safety rules that include training and oversight.
Hallmark Youthcare is located in Goochland County, west of Richmond, and serves young people who need around-the-clock psychiatric care. The facility has been under review by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which licenses psychiatric residential treatment programs in the state. A previous review of state records found Hallmark was cited 27 times between January 2024 and September 2025. The violations included staff failing to follow active supervision protocols, an employee assaulting a resident and an employee leaving a gate open before two residents ran from the grounds. One cited supervision failure resulted in a resident being sexually assaulted by another resident, according to the state findings described in prior reporting.
The new juvenile charge followed earlier concerns raised by Chrissy Black, a grandmother who said she placed her grandson, Kayden, at Hallmark Youthcare in March 2024 because he needed psychiatric help. Black said she struggled to reach staff by phone and grew alarmed by what her grandson told her about conditions inside the facility. “Ten to 15 times a night, and I couldn’t get through,” Black said, describing calls she said went unanswered. She said she removed Kayden after he told her he felt suicidal because he feared other residents would hurt him. Black said one weekend, her grandson reported that three other youths who had threatened him later attacked another resident during the night.
State inspection records reviewed in earlier reporting showed Hallmark had 28 human rights complaint inspections from the start of 2024 through September 2025. For comparison, another psychiatric residential treatment facility for children and adolescents in Virginia had six human rights complaint inspections during the same period. Inspectors found noncompliance in each of Hallmark’s complaint inspections, including problems tied to supervision, staff conduct and resident safety. In several cases, the facility submitted corrective action plans. State records also showed that some human rights inspections led Hallmark to terminate employees. The state later conducted an unannounced inspection and a scheduled inspection in 2025 that resulted in no violations, and regulators renewed Hallmark Youthcare’s license to operate.
Hallmark Youthcare said any allegation involving resident safety is taken seriously and reviewed quickly. In an earlier statement, the facility said it works with licensing and governing agencies on required reports and action plans. The facility said it provides 24-hour care for children and adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral issues and that staff performance and resident care are monitored closely. The facility also said ongoing staff training and compliance protocols are important because of the needs of the young people it serves. The state has not cited Hallmark for any human rights violations since January, according to the facility’s response cited in the latest report.
Police have not announced whether any other residents or employees face charges in connection with the April 2025 allegation. They also have not said whether the April and May 2025 investigations involve the same alleged victim, the same accused juvenile or the same area of the facility. Because juvenile cases are handled with added privacy protections, many court details may remain sealed. The next public step could come from state police, state licensing officials or the juvenile court system if more information is released under Virginia law.
For Black, the case deepened concerns she had already raised about children who remain in residential psychiatric care. She said her grandson later improved after moving to another facility and returning home. “I’m scared to death for them,” Black said of youths still living at Hallmark, especially children in foster care. Her comments came as families, regulators and law enforcement continued to examine how vulnerable residents are protected in locked or closely supervised treatment settings.
The juvenile charge remains pending, and the separate May 2025 sexual assault investigation remains open. State police have not released a timetable for completing that investigation or said when additional findings may be made public.
Author note: Last updated May 2, 2026.