The Bureau of Justice Statistics released a report on Thursday indicating a surprisingly high rate of sexual abuse of juvenile inmates. The new study indicates that the rate of sexual abuse in juvenile detention facilities is far higher than previously reported by either the federal government or the states.
In some facilities, more than 30 percent of the juveniles were victims of some form of sexual abuse. The overall rate of sexual abuse was 12 percent. Of the juveniles who had been sexually abused in some way, 95 percent of them said the abuse was committed by female staff members. Approximately 26,550 juveniles are held in 500 facilities around the country, with 91% of the inmates being boys.
I posted an article about the report on my legal news column on Examiner.com, where you can read more details about the report. The article also links to a number of news reports on the subject. A copy of the full government report is also attached to the end of this article.
William L. Pfeifer, Jr.
Special Report: Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008-09