Justice study tracks rape, sexual abuse of juvenile inmates

Justice study tracks rape, sexual abuse of juvenile inmates


The disagreement appears to center on three issues, according to three people following the process: whether prison systems should be subject to independent audits every three years that would assess their compliance; whether guards and staff members of the opposite sex should be prevented from monitoring inmates in bathrooms, showers and other sensitive locations; and whether the reforms involve a "substantial" expense to prison operators.

"Congress did not intend to permit facilities . . . that had done a poor job of protecting inmates to plead expense as an excuse for failing to improve their performance," said Jamie Fellner, a panel member and senior counsel at Human Rights Watch, who sent a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. this week expressing her concern.

John Ozmint, director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, said the prison rape commission operated with "flawed" statistics and a "one-sided" understanding of the pressures and legal obligations of state corrections administrators. In an interview, Ozmint said that he and most of his colleagues had put in place new training and reporting requirements for allegations of sexual misconduct. Several of the recommendations, he said, including the one suggesting pat-downs only by guards of the same gender as inmates, posed problems under employment laws and union contracts.

"Ninety-two percent of my inmates are men," Ozmint said. "Forty-four percent of my work force are women. How do I avoid cross-gender supervision and even cross-gender searching of those inmates?"

The Association of State Correctional Administrators will share its concerns with the Justice Department in a session next month, co-executive director George Camp said. California and Oregon have agreed to put into place the commission's recommendations, advocates say.

Among the sites mentioned in the new study where youths reported high rates of abuse were the Culpeper Juvenile Correctional Center in Fauquier County; the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in suburban Richmond; and the Backbone Mountain Youth Center in Swanton, Md.

Bruce Twyman, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, expressed concerns about the methodology of the study but said officials were taking it seriously.

"We certainly agree that sexual victimization is an issue that needs to be addressed in the state of Virginia as well as the nation," Twyman said. Over the past 18 months, Virginia has increased staff training and upgraded video surveillance in juvenile facilities, he added.

In Maryland, a spokesman for the Department of Juvenile Services said the department "has not had any substantiated complaints for sexual misconduct at the facility in Swanton and has had only one allegation made there" since 2007. The department also announced a review.

Lovisa Stannow, executive director of Just Detention International, which works to prevent prison sexual abuse, said the study reflecting that juveniles may be abused at three times the rate of adults underscores the need for quick action.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/07/AR2010010703849_2.htm