Texas lockups violate minors’ constitutional rights, says US justice department

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.

Spokespeople for the office of the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott , did not immediately return emails seeking comment on Thursday. The governor’s office said it would cooperate with the federal investigation when it was opened.

Mental health concerns, such as suicidal ideation and self-harm, were ignored while children were routinely punished, according to the report. The facilities’ inability to address or treat these issues violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, officials said during the announcement.

The justice department said that it looks forward to cooperating with Texas, while also floating a potential federal lawsuit.

“This report makes clear that we are failing our youth, that we are not providing the care they need to be successful,” said Elizabeth Henneke, the founder and chief executive officer of the Lone Star Justice Alliance advocacy group.

In 2021, the justice department began investigating Texas’s five juvenile facilities after advocates filed a complaint.

About 900 youths are detained in understaffed and outdated juvenile facilities across the state, Henneke said. She said judges and lawmakers should think creatively about other rehabilitation efforts.

Meanwhile, Kentucky, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey are also being investigated or sued over allegations of harsh treatment of incarcerated children.

The Associated Press and Report for America contributed reporting