Washington Has A Serious Problem...

If you're overwhelmed by the news lately, you're probably unaware of the significant problems with staff at Washington State juvenile detention facilities. There's a long history of sexual assaults and abuse against the youth they are charged with protecting. The damage inflicted on taxpayers and citizens, as well as the youth impacted by the assaults, is staggering. Recent lawsuits and settlements reflect a significant pattern of behavior within the DCYF (Department of Children, Youth and Families) and the facilities they operate.

Covering the period from xxx to yyy, the State Of Washington has:

• Received xxx complaints about staff members engaging in sexual activity with underage youth detained in the facilities

• Fired yyy staff members from the youth facilities for engaging in sexual acts with individuals they are duty-bound to protect

• Pursued criminal charges against zzz staff members for their illegal assaults on youth under their control

• Paid out $aaa to settle claims of sexual abuse by staff members at the facilities

• Been found guilty of creating an environment of sexual abuse, retaliation for reporting abuse, and - even when presented with factual evidence - failed to take meaningful steps to reduce the abuse. Instead, there is evidence that they provided cover for the staff members responsible for the assaults

Known Statistics

About the Author

I am neither a current or former inmate of any of the facilities being discussing. I am a tax-paying citizen of the State of Washington.

I’m opposed to the idea that inmates, especially young offenders, are fair targets for their custodians, simply because they are convenient sexual toys. I’m concerned about the ramifications of incarceration of individuals, exposing them to sexual assault situations, then believing that they will be normal members of society when they’re released. The facts and information tell a different story.

Finally, I’m angry that the government food chain which begins at the top and ends at the guards has sought to protect itself at citizen expense, as well as the expense of those exploited.

As I receive additional information, which supports my claims, I will release it to the public.

Each elected government official in Washington will be included in my distribution chain. If we’re going to demand accountability from the youth we incarcerate, certainly we must have even greater accountability for those charged with the responsibility to keep them in incarcerated

Being sentenced to incarceration does not come with acceptance that vulnerable youth are fair game for a host of violent encounters. There's no place in law that says that you're fair game for every kind of abuse imaginable during incarceration, once you've been sentenced.

I’m very concerned that the State Of Washington has taken steps intended to allow the staff members responsible for the abuse to escape justice. What message does this send to the very individuals committed by the courts? Accountability for thee, but not for me?

There are further concerns: Is there a mechanism available to those exiting the system to be evaluated and restored? It appears not. Or do we simply eject them when their sentence is completed and hope for the best for everyone concerned?

In addition, I have concerns about how good people working in the system are branded by the actions of the evildoers. How can they raise an alarm when the chain of authority is undermined at every level?

Known Statistics

Covering the period from xxx to yyy, the State Of Washington has:

• Received xxx complaints about staff members engaging in sexual activity with underage youth detained in the facilities

• Fired yyy staff members from the youth facilities for engaging in sexual acts with individuals they are duty-bound to protect

Statements Leading Into Documentation

The state of Washington has a big problem. Sex offenses perpetrated against incarcerated youth, by their custodians, has a long history in our juvenile facilities.

Girls and boys, traumatized circumstances that landed them in custody, further impacted by their incarceration, are a ripe target for a special breed of sex offender: Custodial guardians. Their guardians are the men and women charged with the duty to protect those in their care, and their supervisors. I’d expect the occasional bad apple who will abuse their position of authority. Society makes no excuses for their actions and crimes.

However, a line has been crossed. From the occasional bad apple to repeated offenders, multiple perpetrators, numerous victims, and years of sexual abuse and sexual assault. At this time, the youngest victim identified in court documents was ### years old.

The institutions responsible for overseeing the safety and security of the youth being affected has been beyond negligent in their responsibilities. In some cases the state has hidden and obscured the facts, which further enabled the offenders. In one example, an identified offender against multiple children was dropped from a cross-claim by the state, letting him off the hook of accountability. In another, guards provided cover for staff members who were engaged in sexual exploitation of the minors. Still other offenders were simply removed as employees with no further investigation or accountability. Based on the allegations and supporting documentation, this appears to be standard procedure.

You’ll hear more about the individuals involved in short order.

When confronted with the facts the State Of Washington has downplayed the severity of the situation while simultaneously writing sizeable checks to settle claims. In other cases, they have been sued - and lost - in courts. How many cases? I’m unsure. It’s difficult to nail down when efforts are made to obfuscate the truth by burying the requested information. By current estimates, the number of youth impacted are AT LEAST 500 individuals. Digging into the stories and asking questions, this number could be far more. And that’s just what I’ve learned from the cases filed in the last five years.

What about the costs associated with these cases? If you think that obtaining the numbers of juveniles who have been sexually abused, assaulted or raped is nearly impossible to obtain, the costs associated with the cases I know about must be enormous. Between court costs, legal costs, settlement and judgment costs, the amount of money we’re discussing is in the multi-million dollar range - a cost that is borne by you and I. What do we have to show for it?

Finally, I’m very concerned about the lack of accountability. Not only those individuals accused of engaging in sexual offenses against children and wards of the state, but the DCYF (Department of Children, Youth, and Families (formerly, The Department of Social and Health Services' Children's Administration), and the remainder of the up-chain supervision bodies. Criminal complaints against the perpetrators were filed with the Chehalis Police Department, but no action was forthcoming. Employees were caught in the act and the worst action taken against the offenders was dismissal - no charges, no messages sent to employees regarding the seriousness of their offenses. Just covering up the situation and writing checks.

What I’ve been able to find is in the process of being uploaded to this site. I want to ensure that the claims I’m making are documented so there’s no confusion or denial from the State of Washington, perpetrators, legislators, Attorney General or Governor, that might undermine my claims and allegations.

This is a more lengthy introduction than I intended, but is necessary to make sense of the rest of what you’re about to see.

A Work In Progress - Stay tuned for further developments

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