Suit alleges state-funded rehabilitation program subjected participants to discrimination and coercive religious programming

SEATTLE — A Washington resident, Bryson Butler, has filed a lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and its contractor, American Behavioral Health Systems (ABHS), alleging that he and other residents were subjected to anti-gay harassment, discriminatory treatment, and coercive religious programming while participating in DOC-mandated substance use rehabilitation.

Butler is represented by attorneys Andy Boes and Julie Kline of Seattle-based Schroeter Goldmark & Bender (SGB). The lawsuit alleges that DOC and ABHS subjected participants in a residential substance use treatment program to repeated anti-gay comments, homophobic slurs, false and stigmatizing statements about HIV-positive individuals, and religious materials condemning same-sex relationships.

Under a sentencing alternative program administered by DOC (the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative, or “DOSA”), individuals who committed non-violent crimes attributable to substance use disorders receive a reduced prison sentence in exchange for completing treatment. According to the lawsuit, compliance with treatment is a mandatory condition of a DOSA, and participants who fail to comply risk being returned to prison.

Butler, who is gay, was required to complete months of post-release substance use treatment at ABHS, including 60 days in a residential treatment facility.

Even after Butler reported the harassment to DOC and ABHS, the behavior continued. At one mandatory treatment session, ABHS distributed a religious comic strip by Jack Chick titled Doom Town. The comic portrays gay men as predators, suggesting that they were “threatening to infect our nation’s blood supply with AIDS” as an act of “blood terrorism.” The suit alleges that an ABHS administrator acknowledged that this material had been approved by the organization.

“No one should be forced to endure harassment for their sexual orientation. No one. That includes people trying to get their lives back on track by seeking treatment for substance use disorders,” said SGB attorney Andy Boes. “Washington taxpayers are funding a program that teaches that same-sex relationships are ‘disgusting’ and that gay men are predators. We must expect better of our public institutions. In fact, our laws demand it.”

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Fair Housing Act, the Washington Law Against Discrimination, and Article I, Section 11 of the Washington Constitution, which protects religious freedom and prohibits the use of public funds for religious instruction. The suit seeks to stop the practices that continue to harm residents at ABHS.

If you or someone you know received treatment at an ABHS facility or as a part of a court-ordered program and experienced harassment, anti-gay slurs, anti-LGBTQ+ instruction, or religious coercion, we want to hear from you. Please contact Andy Boes and Julie Kline at (206) 622-8000 or info@sgb-law.com.

For more than 50 years, SGB has represented individuals in cases involving civil rights, discrimination, personal injury, and other matters involving corporate and governmental accountability. To learn more, visit sgb-law.com.