(Newswire.net — June 6, 2018) — In the United States, there are separate correction systems for juveniles and adults. Nevertheless, there are times when the lines are blurred. This can create some unpleasant situations for some of America’s most vulnerable teens. This week brought big news for juvenile corrections. First and foremost, it was announced that the Star Tribune’s editorial board wants to place stricter restrictions on juvenile detention centers in regards to individual privacy laws. The board insists that the juvenile detention center should not avoid accountability. Recently, the Natrona County School District made the decision not to release information about one of its students being waterboarded right on campus.
The district insisted that it was attempted to protect the privacy of minor students involved. When doing so, the school withheld information that had nothing to do with the students’ privacy. For instance, the agency refused to tell the public where the event took place or whether any high schoolers were involved. The community was basically left in the dark and this diminished the public’s support for the district. Now, a worker with the Natrona County’s Regional Juvenile Detention Center has been accused of assaulting a female inmate. The Department of Family Services oversees the facility and they have refused to acknowledge the assault.
Again, the Department used the juvenile privacy laws to avoid commenting on the investigation. The department’s representative refused to admit that an investigation had even been conducted. At one time, the Juvenile Detention Center is capable of housing 28 inmates. All are minors. Those children need to be protected. The editorial board believes that it is possible to protect those minors, while also making the public aware of some details of the investigation. Also this week, CBS News revealed that a Florida juvenile detention center worker had been accused of sexually assaulting a young girl. The girl was being detained at the detention center at the time of the alleged assault.
Juvenile law is a tricky thing and minors should be protected. That didn’t happen when 26-year-old Marcus James allegedly sexually assaulted a girl under the age of 12. The defendant has now been charged with sexual assault of a victim under 12 by a custodial authority and sexual assault by a corrections officer. The crimes are a capital offense and a third degree felony respectively. At this point in time, the defendant had pleaded not guilty. The girl reported to deputies that she was instructed by James to clean certain areas of the detention center in Orlando on Sunday around 11 p.m.
After the cleaning had concluded, the girl was ordered to go into the correction officers’ office. Marcus allegedly followed the girl. When they were alone, he allegedly slapped her and forced her to perform a sex act on him. Then, it is alleged that the defendant yanked the girl up by her hair before sexually assaulting her again for several minutes. The girl also claimed she was threatened and told not to speak. James allegedly bought the girl a hamburger from McDonald’s to keep her quiet. At this point in time, the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.