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| Abuse alleged at 2 juvenile facilities |
| By Baltimore Sun |
| Published: 03/30/2005 |
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Allegations of child abuse in which an officer at the Alfred D. Noyes Children's Center in Rockville reportedly punched naked youths in the groin and encouraged detainees to join in the attacks have resulted in the dismissal of two employees, the reprimand of two others and the removal of two supervisors. The alleged abuse -- part of an initiation ritual -- was detailed by the state's Office of the Independent Juvenile Justice Monitor in a report released yesterday, the same day the office revealed that three youths at the Baltimore Juvenile Justice Center were kept in isolation longer than permitted by state law. The youths at the Baltimore facility tried to escape Feb. 15 by squeezing through a loosely chained door and were placed in seclusion after they were caught. Initially, the state Department of Juvenile Services stated that the youths were not held in isolation for more than three days, the limit under the law, but the monitor's office found they had been held for five consecutive days. During their isolation, the youths were not allowed to shower regularly or attend school. One was forced to sleep on a bare mattress and he was not given anything to wear but underwear, the monitor's office stated in a report. Two of the youths expressed an intent to commit suicide. One youth banged his head against a wall; another smeared human feces on his shirt. "The way it comes at you, it is just like a tsunami," said Stacey Gurian-Sherman, director of Juvenile Justice Family Advocacy Initiative and Resources, an advocacy group for families of youth in the state's detention facilities. "It is just breathtaking. ... If the department cannot ensure the safety of the youth then it should close the facilities. This abuse would not be tolerated in any other institution responsible for youth." State officials have already responded to a draft version of the reports, said LaWanda Edwards, a spokeswoman for the Department of Juvenile Services. A training program on the proper use of seclusion was begun. Supervisors attended a training session at the Baltimore facility this month and will be responsible for taking information back to their staffs and ensuring that they do not violate the law, she said. |
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