MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Shocking details of physical and sexual abuse on the most vulnerable Texas youth — the 73 page investigation of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department shows the children were treated unconstitutionally.
The McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Mart is one of five places in Texas that house children ages 10 to 19 years old committed a crime or violated probation.
The children are locked inside with barbed wire fences on the outside — 80 percent are Black and Latino.
An investigation that began in October 2021 shows abuse at the Mart facility including excessive force, isolation and sexual abuse with one in six children reporting abuse.
In September 2022, the investigators found a staff member on body cam having overtly sexual conversations with a child — using violent sexually graphic language, saying “Children should be on guard or they may wake up with a d*** in your a**".
The report shows in December 2022, a Mart staff member abused a child by “leaning forward and kissing each other on the lips".
In August 2022, a Mart staff member allegedly pepper sprayed a child while escorting her in handcuffs making no attempt to engage her verbally before spraying her.
In March 2022, a staff member reportedly "intentionally punched a child in the head face and body then forcefully slammed the child to the floor while handcuffed".
The report found children unnecessarily spend excessively long periods of time in isolation saying, “Ethan was confined for 14 days, Angel for 13 days and Juan for 11 days.”
The report also says “video showed children in all units were locked in their cells for the night before 7 p.m.”.
TJJD reportedly failed to properly evaluate all children suspected of having disabilities saying the diagnostician reported they hadn’t conducted a single initial evaluation in the last five years.
They are also supposed to hold reviews to protect children with behavioral disabilities from classroom removals but one special educator said, “like a male animal, they have to take some time to adjust to their new setting".
Investigators witnessed lost instructional time noting, “the female students arrived 15 to 45 minutes late on three separate site visits.”
"These conditions are unacceptable — ny office hopes to provide protections to the vulnerable and help right wrongs that have existed for far too long," said U.S. attorney, Alameda Hamden.
"We look forward to working with the state and TJJD to eliminate these issues going forward," said U.S. attorney, Leigha Simonton.
The report also showed that the children filed grievances, but they were ignored.
This wasn’t the first time TJJD has been in trouble — in the early 2000's there was a governor ordered conservatorship due to physical and sexual abuse.
For the full report, click here.
