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| Officials confirm abuses at Ohio girls prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/02/2004 |
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Allegations of sexual assault, beatings and inadequate medical care at Ohio's only juvenile corrections center for girls have prompted two independent investigations and led to firings and rule changes for the girls, state officials and legal advocates said. The Covington, Ky.,-based Children's Law Center, a regional nonprofit agency that advocates for children's legal rights, interviewed several girls at the facility late last year, and the Ohio Department of Youth Services hired its own consultant who corroborated many of the group's findings. The Law Center's investigation began last fall after Assistant Ohio Public Defender Jill Beehler reported allegations that girls at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility made to lawyers helping them with their criminal cases. The girls complained about conditions, including verbal and physical abuses by male guards, said Beehler, who heads the office's juvenile division. The Cincinnati Enquirer first reported on the investigations last Thursday, saying Beehler turned to the Law Center after saying the Department of Youth Services hadn't responded to her October 2003 letter about the girls' allegations. Attorneys at the Law Center interviewed about a dozen girls at Scioto, about 15 miles northwest of Columbus in Delaware County. It houses an average of about 120 girls ages 12 to 21 who have been convicted of all types of felonies. One officer is serving a six-month prison term after convictions of sexual battery against two girls at Scioto. Two girls told attorneys that officers broke their arms while restraining them, and one said a guard hit her head and face so hard her eardrum was damaged. A staff member independently told the investigators that the staff member believed the girl with the ear damage and that the guard had threatened other girls and workers to keep quiet, Tandy said. A girl said it took six months to see a doctor when she had a broken foot, and there was another delay before she received a brace, which didn't fit. Tandy sent a letter in January to department Director Geno Natalucci-Persichetti, saying she was concerned for the girls' health and safety. The department hired Fred Cohen, who helped write national guidelines for the treatment of children sent to juvenile prisons, to investigate the complaints and recommend changes, said Kevin Miller, the department's chief of staff. |
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