On the heels of a settlement in Kansas where a child was repeatedly raped, another facility has been reported by a Social Worker for inhumane and immoral living conditions.
http://cjonline.com/news/local/2009-11-26/juvenile_facility_investigated
By James Carlson
Created November 26, 2009 at 10:40pm
Updated November 26, 2009 at 11:27pm
The Kansas Attorney General's Office and Juvenile Justice Authority are investigating allegations of shoddy conditions at a juvenile correctional facility in North Topeka.
In an anonymous letter sent earlier this month to numerous governmental agencies and to The Topeka Capital-Journal, a person self-identified as a social worker at the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex, 1430 N.W. 25th St., alleged the facility housed boys in "utterly inhumane and immoral" conditions in the segregation unit. Some of the issues raised include inadequate sleeping provisions, insufficient hygiene materials, a lack of medical treatment and placement of juveniles in isolation for long periods.
JJA spokesman Bill Miskell said it isn't out of the ordinary for his agency to receive allegations, and officials are following their protocol.
"Not all investigations are made public, but we investigate any allegation of wrongdoing that we receive," he said. "When we receive info that gives us cause for concern that requires attention of an outside agency -- the attorney general, for example -- we bring them into the process."
The governor's office, Kansas Human Rights Commission, attorney general's office, JJA and The Capital-Journal received copies of the letter.
Attorney general spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett said her office can't comment on whether it is investigating the facility, but JJA and the governor's office confirmed separate investigations by both agencies.
"We support their investigative process," said Beth Martino, spokeswoman for the governor.
Miskell wasn't sure when its investigation would be complete and wasn't sure what, if any part of it, would be open to the public.
In the letter, the writer names five juveniles housed at KJCC who the writer says are experiencing the poor conditions.
This comes on the heels of JJA commissioner Russ Jennings' announcement late last month that he was implementing three changes to the state's juvenile justice system.
Under those policy shifts, JJA will now subject juvenile group homes and detention centers to twice-a-year outside reviews; reclassify its facilities to be rated as low, medium and high risk; and implement a statewide test to assess juveniles' risk of reoffending and the services best suited for their problems.
The Capital-Journal published a story Oct. 17 detailing issues at the Forbes Juvenile Attention Center, 6700 S.W. Topeka Blvd. Central to that story was a lawsuit against FJAC alleging a 12-year-old boy was raped repeatedly by his 15-year-old roommate.
Miskell said he couldn't off the top of his head quantify how many investigations happen each year but said they happen "frequently."
Friday, November 27, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Mills v. Sedgwick County Kansas et al
Another Settlement For A Child From Sedgwick County That Was Raped While In The Care Of The State
Friday, November 20, 2009
County settles rape lawsuit
The costs of defending the case, in which a resident at Riddel Boys Ranch said he was raped, were considered in the county's decision.
BY HURST LAVIANA
Posted on Thu, Nov. 19, 2009
The Wichita Eagle
Sedgwick County commissioners agreed Wednesday to spend $85,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former Judge James Riddel Boys Ranch resident who said he was raped while being held at the home for troubled teens.
Assistant County Counselor Michael North said the county admitted no wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit. He said the costs of defending the case were taken into consideration when deciding to settle the case.
The plaintiff, who is now 19, said in his lawsuit that he was assaulted at the ranch six or seven times while being held there in September and October 2004 before leaving the facility without permission.
The boy ended up at the home of his mother, who convinced him to return to the ranch, the lawsuit said. The boy and his mother told ranch officials about the assaults, the lawsuit said, but no corrective action was taken.
On Nov. 2, 2004, the lawsuit said, the plaintiff was raped by the inmate responsible for the earlier assaults.
The younger boy received hospital treatment and was assigned to another juvenile facility, the lawsuit said.
The resident accused of the assaults was convicted of attempted aggravated criminal sodomy, and is now a registered sex offender living in Wichita.
The Boys Ranch, which is operated by Sedgwick County, is at Lake Afton in western Sedgwick County.
Reach Hurst Laviana at 316-268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.
The Wichita Eagle
Sedgwick County commissioners agreed Wednesday to spend $85,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former Judge James Riddel Boys Ranch resident who said he was raped while being held at the home for troubled teens.
Assistant County Counselor Michael North said the county admitted no wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit. He said the costs of defending the case were taken into consideration when deciding to settle the case.
The plaintiff, who is now 19, said in his lawsuit that he was assaulted at the ranch six or seven times while being held there in September and October 2004 before leaving the facility without permission.
The boy ended up at the home of his mother, who convinced him to return to the ranch, the lawsuit said. The boy and his mother told ranch officials about the assaults, the lawsuit said, but no corrective action was taken.
On Nov. 2, 2004, the lawsuit said, the plaintiff was raped by the inmate responsible for the earlier assaults.
The younger boy received hospital treatment and was assigned to another juvenile facility, the lawsuit said.
The resident accused of the assaults was convicted of attempted aggravated criminal sodomy, and is now a registered sex offender living in Wichita.
The Boys Ranch, which is operated by Sedgwick County, is at Lake Afton in western Sedgwick County.
Reach Hurst Laviana at 316-268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.
Former Boys Ranch resident sues Sedgwick County
By Tim Potter The Wichita Eagle, Kan.Publication: The Wichita Eagle (Kansas)Date: Wednesday, September 23 2009
Sep. 23--A former Boys Ranch resident has sued Sedgwick County, alleging it failed to protect him from being raped while he lived at the home for troubled teens in late 2004.
The plaintiff -- who is 19 now and was 14 at the time he says he was raped -- filed a lawsuit in June in state district court that has been moved to federal court in Wichita.
The lawsuit seeks the standard "in excess of $75,000" in damages, and lists as defendants the county, Judge Riddel Boys Ranch and the county Department of Corrections, including its director, Mark Masterson, and a number of his current and former employees.
The county has denied the lawsuit's claims. The attorney defending the county in the lawsuit, Assistant County Counselor Michael North, said Tuesday that he can't comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit says that the plaintiff had been confined to the Boys Ranch at Lake Afton in September 2004, and that an older teen had assaulted him six or seven times that September and October.
The older teen was 15 at the time.
The assaults caused the 14-year-old to leave the Boys Ranch without permission in October 2004 and go to his mother's house, where he reported he had been assaulted by the other teen, the lawsuit said. His mother persuaded him to return to the Boys Ranch, and she contacted the facility, the lawsuit said.
Both plaintiff and his mother advised personnel at the Boys Ranch that he feared another inmate-resident who was assaulting him," the petition said. "No corrective action was taken by Boys Ranch personnel."
Then, in November 2004, the same teen who had assaulted the 14-year-old raped him, the lawsuit said.
The younger boy received hospital treatment and was assigned to another juvenile facility.
The lawsuit contends that corrections employees were "deliberately indifferent to the safety" of the younger boy and failed to "properly classify, separate and supervise other inmates, leading to serious injuries sustained by the plaintiff."
In the county's answer to the lawsuit's claims, North denied any unlawful actions by county employees.
North also denied that the defendants knew of allegations that the plaintiff had been sexually assaulted six or seven times by the other teen.
The former Boys Ranch resident accused of the assaults is now listed on the state's sex offender registry.
The registry says he has a conviction for attempted aggravated criminal sodomy, for an incident that occurred on the same day the other former Boys Ranch resident alleges he was raped.
William Townsley, the Wichita lawyer representing the young man in his lawsuit against the county, said the litigation remains in early stages.
Reach Tim Potter at 316-268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com
Justia Federal Court Filings & Dockets
Mills v. Sedgwick County Kansas et al
Defendant:
Sedgwick County Kansas, Sedgwick County Department of Corrections, Judge James V Riddel Boys' Ranch, Mark Masterson, Betty Alley Hodnett, Lamont C Emery, Joe T Kaminsky, June F Fair-Harris, Robert J Brassfield, Floyd Johnson, David D Lathrom, Kathleen Suzanne Triebel-Crow, Louis V Goins, David R Patterson, Robin Ann Runyan, Dennis T Domen, Sandra K Duffield, Bobby Damon Etheridge, Cary Toby Knopf, Rodney L Pelly, Pedro E Juarez, Antonio M Ortega, Jr., Enoch I Saisi, Lanna Sue Simpson, Marlon C Green, Molly Diane Audley, Gary A. Sutton, Shannon R Silva, Stacy L Cotton, John William Martin, John C Ayres, Lorenzo Ramon Woods, II, John D Haag, Ryan W Young, Kenneth W Cox, Julie Ann Leonard, Gerald V Murphy, Kevin Gary Hansen, Kevin R Crane, Kristi Lynn Winter, Jimmy E Santiago, IV, Willie Gerome Davis, Richard L Drakeford, Crystal Jean Whiting, Tessa A Ehlers, Shaun A Johnson, Charles M Deitchler and Kami K Thatcher
Case Number: 6:2009cv01192
Filed: June 22, 2009
Court: Kansas District Court
Office: Wichita Office [ Court Info ]
County: Sedgwick
Presiding Judge: District Judge Eric F. Melgren
Referring Judge: Magistrate Judge Karen M. Humphreys
Defendant:
Sedgwick County Kansas, Sedgwick County Department of Corrections, Judge James V Riddel Boys' Ranch, Mark Masterson, Betty Alley Hodnett, Lamont C Emery, Joe T Kaminsky, June F Fair-Harris, Robert J Brassfield, Floyd Johnson, David D Lathrom, Kathleen Suzanne Triebel-Crow, Louis V Goins, David R Patterson, Robin Ann Runyan, Dennis T Domen, Sandra K Duffield, Bobby Damon Etheridge, Cary Toby Knopf, Rodney L Pelly, Pedro E Juarez, Antonio M Ortega, Jr., Enoch I Saisi, Lanna Sue Simpson, Marlon C Green, Molly Diane Audley, Gary A. Sutton, Shannon R Silva, Stacy L Cotton, John William Martin, John C Ayres, Lorenzo Ramon Woods, II, John D Haag, Ryan W Young, Kenneth W Cox, Julie Ann Leonard, Gerald V Murphy, Kevin Gary Hansen, Kevin R Crane, Kristi Lynn Winter, Jimmy E Santiago, IV, Willie Gerome Davis, Richard L Drakeford, Crystal Jean Whiting, Tessa A Ehlers, Shaun A Johnson, Charles M Deitchler and Kami K Thatcher
Case Number: 6:2009cv01192
Filed: June 22, 2009
Court: Kansas District Court
Office: Wichita Office [ Court Info ]
County: Sedgwick
Presiding Judge: District Judge Eric F. Melgren
Referring Judge: Magistrate Judge Karen M. Humphreys
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