Boy charged with raping cellmate

Article Tools Print This Page | Comments(1) | Suggest a Story

By Hampton Roads Daily Press

Published: 03/15/2004

A juvenile court judge sent a 12-year-old boy to a psychiatric hospital at his lawyer's request March 5 after the boy told authorities that he was assaulted and raped repeatedly by a 15-year-old cellmate at the Newport News (Va.) Juvenile Detention Center, according to his lawyer.
Police charged the older boy with four counts of sodomy, four counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of assault and battery. The Daily Press is withholding the name of the 15-year-old to protect the identity of the victim.
Hampton lawyer Kevin Shea said the victim's family questions why their son, who turned 12 in January, shared a cell with an older boy.
Overcrowding has forced city officials to bunk two juveniles in the same cell since the late 1980s. City officials expect juveniles to have individual cells when a new $14-million, 110-bed detention center opens this summer, probably in July.
"Our employees followed all the proper procedures," said Kim Lee, a city spokeswoman. "The bottom line is we've got a facility designed to hold 40 kids, and we've got 96 of them."
The Police Department and Child Protective Services are investigating, Lee said. The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Services has been notified, but it does not conduct investigations into such incidents.
"Irrespective of the overcrowding, from a certification standpoint they provide a safe, secure and clean environment," said Tim Howard, the state agency's deputy director.
Larry Robinson, who has headed the detention center for about eight years, will conduct an internal investigation to find out whether officials need to change security measures, Lee said. This is the first alleged rape at the juvenile center that authorities said they could remember.

Comments:

Login to let us know what you think

MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search