Collin Gosselin Claims He Was Abused by Mom Kate Gosselin

Collin Gosselin claims he had a “rough” childhood in a new interview with The Sun.

On Sept. 10, the Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum, 20, brought forth new allegations in the interview, claiming he was abused by his mother, Kate Gosselin, starting when he was eight or nine years old. He alleged that he was confined and “isolated” from his other seven siblings by Kate and that he was “a scapegoat” for his mother’s problems and often took “the brute end of things.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Kate and her attorney, Richard Puleo, for comment but has not received a response. Puleo told The Sun that he didn’t believe that Kate had done anything to “intentionally harm” her son and that “she did what she did to protect herself and her family” from what he called “troubled behavior.”

“My mother had a room built in our unfinished section of the storage basement,” he alleged to the outlet. “She had a room put up with cameras in it, a tiny window in the corner and it was bolt-locked from the outside. It was like a containment room, literally, and it had a mattress on the floor and that’s how I lived.”

Collin claimed he would be contained in the room for most of the day. Eventually, he said he stopped going to school and “never really went outside,” adding, “I never played with [my siblings]. I was kept there. It was literally containment.”

“My mother at many, many times, and most of the time, became physically aggressive, verbally, very abusive with the things she would say,” Collin alleged, claiming that their relationship was “very emotionally abusive” and he didn’t “know any better” as a child.

“When my mother would put me in that room multiple times, she had zip-tied my hands and feet together and bolt locked the door, turned the lights off and had cameras there just watching me,” he claimed.

According to medical reports obtained by The Sun, Collin reported Kate’s alleged abuse to his counselor. His father Jon Gosselin — with whom Kate also shares children Cara, Madelyn, Alexis, Aaden, Leah, Joel and Hannah — told the outlet he wasn’t aware of Collin’s alleged treatment until he obtained custody of Hannah.

When Jon and Kate finalized their divorce in 2009, Kate was awarded custody of their children. In 2016, she sent Collin to the Fairmount Behavioral Health System institution in Philadelphia for what she previously claimed to be “unpredictable and violent behavior” when he was 12 years old.

Per the records, Collin was diagnosed with unspecified bipolar disorder and related disorders, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and PTSD — all conditions he believes were falsely diagnosed.

“It got to the point where word was getting out and child services were being called,” Collin told The Sun of Kate’s alleged abuse. “In her desperate attempt to protect herself, she placed me in this institution with no notice. I was one day just up and gone.”

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth, and Families Press Secretary Brandon Cwalina told PEOPLE that they could not confirm or deny the allegations due to confidentiality.

“Keeping children safe is our top priority at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), and we are committed to ensuring the health and well-being of children throughout the Commonwealth,” Cwalina said. “In Pennsylvania, child welfare is a county-administered and state-supervised system; most child abuse investigations take place at the county level, and we work with our county partners to make sure that any potential abuse and neglect is investigated and handled urgently.”

During his 22-month stay, Collin recalled writing letters to his father in crayon, begging him to be his “savior” and rescue him from the facility. Collin claimed that he received no formal education while getting treatment at Fairmount and spent his days doing “just a lot of nothing … sleep, wake up, eat meals.”

While a rep for the Fairmount Behavioral Health System told PEOPLE they cannot comment on specific patients or their care due to HIPAA patient privacy laws, they shared the following statement: “At Fairmount Behavioral Health System, our staff strives to deliver a patient-centered and personalized treatment experience for each individual who comes to us. The youth/adolescent patient experience includes group therapy, family therapy, allied therapy and educational services. Fairmount Behavioral Health System is licensed and fully accredited by The Joint Commission. Located on a 27-acre wooded campus, Fairmount Behavioral Health System is a peaceful, therapeutic environment for patients and families. Fairmount is a significant regional resource for adolescents and adults who have psychiatric and behavioral problems.”  

A rep for Jon Gosselin did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In 2018, Collin left the behavioral program at age 14 and Jon was awarded custody of both him and his sister Hannah. Both went on to graduate high school in June 2023, and Collin opened up about his dreams of becoming a U.S. Marine. He eventually went on to enlist and began training camp before he was discharged in August 2023.

One month before his discharge, Kate released a statement in response to the claims made by Jon and Collin in an episode of Vice TV’s Dark Side of the 2000s. In her statement, Kate claimed that Collin was admitted to the facility due to his “multiple psychiatric diagnoses” and alleged that he once was involved in an attack with a “weapon.”

“Although it saddens me to do so, I need to speak out now,” she wrote, in part, at the time. “My son Collin, whom I love with all my heart, has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years. For the safety of myself, his brothers and sisters and for his own well-being, he was placed in a facility following years of outpatient treatment which proved insufficient for his needs.”

“Collin’s distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with. As many people who have family members grappling with mental health issues can attest, it is rarely and sadly surprising when complete fabrications occur, and this is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight,” she continued. “Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to need a lot of help. His brothers and sisters and I have not been directly involved in his life due to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies towards us.”

Collin’s older sister Madelyn, now 23, shared a statement at the time as well, alleging Collin had threatened her and her siblings with violence.

“I do not owe my allegiance to any person(s) who has physically threatened me and every member of my immediate family (some incidents as recent as last year). Further, I will never allow someone who has exhibited hateful and even violent behavior toward others based on their racial identity, gender identity, or religious beliefs to be in my life,” she wrote on July 20, 2023.

She later stated that there’s “no further conversation to be had about rebuilding relationships with anyone in my life after reaching the point of physical violence and hate speech. I cannot speak any further on why Collin has done these things, just that I have witnessed them.”

Jon responded to Kate’s statement, telling PEOPLE: “Regarding these brand new false accusations, it seems clear that even today after not seeing her son since the 6th grade, Kate is unable to control her abusive words towards him. Do not forget that a judge awarded temporary sole legal and physical custody of Collin to his father in 2018. Kate never even showed up to court and never spoke to Collin ever again. At this point, Collin is training to be a Marine in order to serve his country and is unable to respond to his mother’s callous lies.”

In his interview with The Sun, Collin said he believes his mother’s claims were the reason behind his discharge. Per the outlet, after her post went public, the Marines reportedly requested Collin take a psychiatric evaluation if he wished to re-enlist, and in October 2023, a doctor concluded that he did not meet the criteria for such diagnoses.

“It’s very important because due to these allegations that she posted on social media, my dream of becoming a U.S. Marine was crushed and it was taken away from me and now I have to fight and do everything I can to fulfill that dream still,” Collin told The Sun. “It’s very important to put these allegations to rest and it’s important to me, for her, to come forward with the truth because I want nothing more than to serve my country.”

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In August 2024, a spokesperson for the Marines told PEOPLE “much of Collin’s case is protected by HIPAA,” but noted that “applicants are thoroughly screened for education, moral and physical qualifications during the enlistment application process.”

Prior to training, all applicants receive a medical evaluation by “a competent medical authority within United States Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM),” the spokesperson said, adding that the evaluation is “to ensure the qualification, health, and safety of individuals and the operational readiness of the Marine Corps.”

The spokesperson also noted that while those screenings “rely on the applicant’s disclosure of information and medical records available,” an applicant’s qualification could be reviewed again by a medical authority “if new and potentially disqualifying information is disclosed after arriving at recruit training.”

“During recruit training individuals may be discharged at any time should they fail to meet the Marine Corps’ mental, moral or physical standards,” the Marines spokesperson said.