Youth lockups in Texas remain beset by sexual abuse, excessive use of pepper spray and other mistreatment including the prolonged isolation of children in their cells, the justice department has said in a scathing new report that accused the state of violating the constitutional rights of hundreds of minors in custody.
The report comes three years after a federal investigation began into alleged widespread abuse and harsh practices within the Texas juvenile justice department, which incarcerates hundreds of young people every year.
Staff in the detention centers have engaged in sexual acts with children, kept some for stretches of 17 to 22 hours of isolation in their cells and pepper-sprayed minors in their faces, US assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke said in releasing Thursday’s report.
Clarke also noted that about 80% of detained Texas children are Black or Hispanic.
“This is a racial justice issue,” she said. “Our children deserve to be protected from harm and [given] access to essential services.”
The state’s juvenile justice department said it has a “zero-tolerance” policy toward abuse and neglect and had worked closely with federal investigators during their site visit in 2022.
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