The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday said a wide-ranging investigation of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department found widespread instances of systemic physical and mental abuse and violations of children’s civil and constitutional rights.
The announcement came on the heels of a scathing report issued after officials investigated conditions at five TJJD facilities: the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg; the Gainesville State School in Gainesville; the Giddings State School in Giddings; the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Mart and the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood.
“TJJD engaged in a pattern of abuse, deprivation of essential services and disability related discrimination that seriously harms children and undermines their rehabilitation — all in violation of their rights under the Constitution, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, during a press call with reporters.
The facilities failed to protect children in their care from harm and sexual abuse, the report contends. It found that investigations by the Office of Inspector General showed “a pervasive atmosphere of sexual abuse, grooming, and lack of staff accountability and training at TJJD” and that some of the minors subject to abuse were previous victims of similar behavior.
The report lists several examples of the alleged misconduct, including a staff member engaging in oral sex with a child in the shower, others having “overtly sexual conversations” with children and another sending nude photos of herself to a child at one of the units.
The investigation also found that a lack of staff supervision led to sexual victimization and misconduct among the children themselves.
“Children should be safe in these facilities. Sexual misconduct undermines any treatment and rehabilitation of the children, many of whom have already been victims of sexual abuse and victims of trafficking,” said U.S. attorney Alamdar Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas. “Making all of this worse, the children in these facilities … do not receive the mental health services they need.”
The report also highlights how pepper spray was often used as a first resort, without decontamination procedures in place.
“TJJD staff often use far more pepper spray, and deploy it far more frequently, than necessary to meet the threat posed,” the report states.
In one example, a child called Emily reportedly made threats at school. Staff responded by taunting her and swearing at her, eventually daring her “to do something in response.”
“Ultimately, the staff tells Emily to ‘shut up,’ pepper sprays her, and then says, ‘That’s what’s up, ho,’” the investigation found. Another child was reportedly pepper sprayed while being escorted to a unit in handcuffs.
Some children in the facilities were also exposed to excessive force and restraint techniques that led to injury.
“TJJD staff use more physical force than necessary, including restraints that can restrict a child’s ability to breathe. Additionally, TJJD’s limited supervisory review of uses of physical force undermines staff accountability,” the report states.
A former staff member at Ron Jackson was charged with official oppression in February after surveillance video showed “him lift a child up and slam him to the floor, causing a laceration above the child’s eye and a concussion.”
In June 2022, two former staff members at the Evins unit were criminally charged after one slammed a child’s head into a pillar and knocked him unconscious.
“The boy allegedly was handcuffed with his hands and arms behind his back throughout this ordeal,” the report states, adding that another staff member reportedly turned off his camera during the ordeal and then dragged the child to another unit.
The federal investigation also found children were kept in isolation for longer periods than necessary, which can exacerbate their mental illness and lead to thoughts of suicide.
Clarke said the probes into the five facilities began in 2021 after the department received a complaint from two advocacy groups about the conditions inside. The department also consulted public records and news reports, and state officials worked with the federal government during the investigations.
“We met with state officials today, we have provided them our report and we look forward to immediately turning to the reforms necessary to address the very severe and significant violations outlined in the report,” Clarke said.
Thursday afternoon the TJJD released a statement in response to the report and said that officials are always working to improve the agency’s operations and services to those in their care and to Texas.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse and neglect and have always fully rejected any abusive behaviors at our campuses,” the statement continued.
“Thanks to the investment in TJJD by the 88th Texas Legislature and support from the Governor’s Office, we have already made several recent significant improvements in our staffing, mental health care and educational programs.”
