Mistreatment Allegations

Whistleblower shares pictures of nasty conditions inside Dallas County’s juvie lockup

June 16, 2024

What is happening inside the juvenile detention center in Dallas County? It depends on who you ask. Former and current employees came to us with concerns and shared photos of the inside the living conditions when they would come out of.
“You know, it was, it was pretty bad. A former employee who asked me not identify him shared these images. Some of the pictures of toilets overflowing with feces are too disturbing to broadcast so we can’t show them to you. But these we can, it shows a facility in recent months that is filthy and unsanitary. There was trash piled up and they had gnats flying around, you know, all their toilets were clogged up, mattresses were ripped, blankets were ripped, you know, it was, it was (not) pretty.”
He and others we spoke to say they are speaking out because they’re concerned about the living conditions and staffing shortages. Kids as young as 11 years old are inside the juvenile detention facility. “The majority of the times these kids are up, you know, for three or four days straight, you know, it’s just very, very sad to see these kids are being neglected like that. Um, you know, there’s days where they don’t even shower at times just because, you know, there’s no, no staff.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0-LUIj9_60

Justice Department Announces Civil Rights Investigation into Conditions at Kentucky Youth Detention Center

May 15, 2024

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a statewide investigation into the conditions at eight youth detention centers and one youth development center run by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice. 
The investigation will examine whether Kentucky protects children confined in these facilities from harm caused by excessive force by staff, prolonged and punitive isolation and inadequate protection from violence and sexual abuse. The investigation will also examine whether Kentucky provides adequate mental health services and required special education and related services to children with disabilities.
“Confinement in the juvenile justice system should help children avoid future contact with law enforcement and mature into law-abiding, productive members of society. Too often, juvenile justice facilities break our children, exposing them to dangerous and traumatic conditions,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are launching this investigation to ensure that children in Kentucky youth detention facilities are safe from harm, receive adequate mental health care and get appropriate special education services.” 
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-civil-rights-investigation-conditions-kentucky-youth-detention

Lawsuit alleges decades of child sex abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers statewide

May 7, 2024

 Child sexual abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers was pervasive and systemic for decades, according to disturbing accounts in a lawsuit filed Monday by 95 men and women housed at the youth centers as children.
The lawsuit details alleged incidents of abuse from 1996 to 2017, including gang rape, forced oral sex, beatings and groping of children by corrections officers, sergeants, nurses, therapists, a chaplain and others at nine youth centers. Many plaintiffs said they were threatened or rewarded to keep quiet.
“The State of Illinois has allowed a culture of abuse at Illinois Youth Centers to flourish unabated,” the 186-page complaint said.
https://apnews.com/article/abuse-juvenile-lawsuit-illinois-detention-a1393cef8d8a354809cd81a6d47b7b7a

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