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| Penn. Juvenile Detention Center to Close |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/03/2002 |
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A juvenile detention center set up under an ambitious plan to treat the state's worst youth offenders will close because of abuse allegations against staff, officials said. The state Department of Public Welfare said recently it had determined that between July 2001, and April this year there were 14 sexual assaults - most committed by employees - on inmates at the New Morgan Academy. A provisional six-month license was issued to the private facility in February as the department investigated the allegations. It decided not to renew the license, which expires October 2, department spokesman Jason Pagni said. It was not clear if any employees would face criminal charges. The New Morgan Academy was established in 2000 with the aim of 'treating troubled youth with dignity and respect.' But the facility's operator, Cornell Companies Inc., admitted it failed in its ambition of combining juvenile justice with mental health care. 'We have had a series of people who not only failed to abide by (company) policy, but failed to abide by state law and common decency,' said company spokesman Paul Doucette. Doucette said that in the most recent case of abuse, four employees roughed up a 15-year-old boy to teach him a lesson. The four were suspended and will be fired, he said. The facility will close next month after the company decides with the state and county where to transfer the inmates. Cornell is the nation's third-largest private correctional firm with some 75 facilities around the nation and 30 in Pennsylvania. |
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