September 18, 2024
Four former staff have been identified in federal civil rights lawsuits, so far two have been criminally charged.
New allegations of staff at the Oregon Youth Authority sexually abusing teens and young adults in custody emerged in a series of federal civil rights lawsuits filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The latest allegations bring the number of young people who say they were sexually abused while in the care of Oregon’s juvenile detention system from three to six.
Youth convicted of serious crimes before they’re 18 years old serve sentences at Oregon Youth Authority facilities. The agency can incarcerate children as young as 12 and can hold them until they turn 24 years old. Some are later transferred to the state’s prison system. According to the lawsuits, the abuse occurred between 2019 and 2023 at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn and Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility in Albany.
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/09/18/oregon-juvenile-detention-system-sexual-abuse-federal-civil-rights-lawsuit-youth-authority