A new court filing says immigrant minors claim to have been abused while being detained at a juvenile center in Virginia.
The extremely disturbing report alleges children as young as 14 were handcuffed, beaten, and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement in concrete jail cells, left nude, and shivering.
According to a half-dozen sworn statements from Latino teens jailed at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center near Staunton, Virginia, guards would strip them of their clothes and strap them to chairs with bags placed over their heads. Some say they have never been allowed outdoors.
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A Honduran immigrant who was placed in the facility at 15 recalled:
“Whenever they used to restrain me and put me in the chair, they would handcuff me. They also put a bag over your head.”
A child-development specialist that used to work there reported seeing bruises and broken bones on the children.
There’s also a problem of these kids being incorrectly accused of belonging to gangs, including MS-13. Program director Kelsey Wong recently cleared that up saying the minors did not appear to be affiliated with gangs and were actually suffering from mental health issues.
Further, the lawsuit claims that the young Latino immigrants kept there “are subjected to unconstitutional conditions that shock the conscience, including violence by staff, abusive and excessive use of seclusion and restraints, and the denial of necessary mental health care.”
There is one story of a 17-year-old Mexican immigrant who came to the United States seeking asylum without his parents, who has now resorted to self-harm and even a suicide attempt under the watch of the facility.
A hearing for the case is schedule for July 3.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has since directed state officials to investigate allegations:
I share many Virginians’ concerns about disturbing allegations of abuse at Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center. While the locally-operated center is subject to state oversight, the immigrants being housed there are subject to the oversight of the US Office of Refugee Resettlement.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 21, 2018
However, this facility is in our Commonwealth. So I have asked @VAPSHS & the Department of Juvenile Justice to investigate these claims & report back to me about any steps that may be necessary at the state or federal level to ensure the safety of every child being held there.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 21, 2018
If Virginia public safety officials find evidence of abuse or mistreatment at this facility, my administration will do everything we can to ensure the safety of these children.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 21, 2018
This is just heartbreaking and so, so wrong. We must do better.
[Image via WHSV-ABC.]
