Sex abuse of youth is a daily, hourly occurrence in foster care but the ACLU has refused to take on that issue for years. Guess there is no money in it.
Washington, D.C. — The same attorney who got a $100 million settlement from Michigan for female inmates alleging sexual harassment by male guards is taking up the cause of teen prisoners who she says are being abused by older inmates.
American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan lawyer Deborah LaBelle made the claim of sexual and physical abuse of Michigan inmates under 18 years old last week here before a multinational panel. She highlighted the story of one alleged victim.
LaBelle played audio testimony before the Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights from what LaBelle described as a 17-year-old prisoner identified only as "Matthew." Prison guards not only didn't stop the sexual and physical abuse by older inmates in his cell and the showers, but laughed, the teen said in the audio as he broke down in sobs.
"They bunked me with another adult," the teen said in a recording the ACLU presented last Monday before the commission — an independent part of the Organization of American States, whose 35 members are from North and South America.
"I was sexually assaulted. He was in his 30s. He said that he was going to stab me if I told anyone," he said.
Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan said all complaints are taken seriously and investigated, but this allegation was not filed with the state agency.
"Although Ms. LaBelle alleges this youthful offender was raped, she has never filed any complaint with the Michigan Department of Corrections and has never brought this matter to the department's attention for proper investigation," Marlan said. "Instead, sadly, it appears that Ms. LaBelle is using this story as an attempt to inflame perceptions regarding the Michigan Department of Corrections."
The Department of Corrections is aware of the assaults on Matthew, said LaBelle, director of the ACLU's juvenile justice project. The ACLU of Michigan has interviewed 69 inmates under 18 in the state's prisons, she said.
"Fifty-three percent have been sexually assaulted by adults," LaBelle said. "Matthew is one of them."
The state of Michigan called the ACLU's claims misleading.
"The Michigan Department of Corrections takes great care in housing and separating youthful offenders from adult offenders in prison," said Marlan, who added the state welcomes an opportunity to address the commission on the "truth regarding its prisons and the housing and treatment of youthful offenders."
Department of Corrections policy insists juveniles — those under 17 — don't have contact with adult inmates in the nearly 43,500-prisoner system. There are 18 such inmates who are housed together separate from adult prisoners at the Lapeer County Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, Marlan said.
Another 75 inmates are 17 years old and treated as adults under Michigan's criminal justice system, according to the Department of Corrections.
"We do try and keep 17-year-olds in one location and separated from older prisoners," Marlan said. "However, it's not a requirement under our policy."
Most states and international standards view 17-year-olds as juveniles, according to the ACLU and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Eight states including Michigan prosecute 17-year-olds as adults, according to the U.S. Justice Department. New York and North Carolina automatically prosecute 16-year-olds as adults, the department said.
Commission to watch video
The story of Matthew was designed to highlight the risks to teens under 18 locked up with older inmates in Michigan and 24 other states, according to the ACLU of Michigan, which urged intervention to end the practice.
"I find the information we have received alarming," said Tracy Robinson, one of seven commissioners, during the one-hour hearing last Monday.
The commission is expected to watch video testimony of Michigan inmates under 18 recorded by the ACLU and may issue a report, recommendations or do further investigation.
LaBelle successfully won a $100 million settlement against Michigan in 2009 on behalf of female inmates who alleged sexual misconduct by male guards.
The commission is holding 63 hearings this year, with four regarding human rights cases in the U.S., said Emilio Alvarez Icaza, executive secretary of the Inter-American human rights system. Colombia and Mexico each has the most hearings with six apiece, Icaza said.
Hearing the Michigan case "is quite unique," he said. "For the commission, it's sending the message that this is very important. It's a very serious matter."
The United States should set an example, Icaza said.
"If the United States is talking internationally about human rights," he said, "they should pay attention at home."
Corrections denies claims
Michigan officials were absent from the hearing because Marlan said the state wasn't invited to testify.
"We categorically deny the false and misleading information provided by attorney Deborah LaBelle," Marlan said. The department "was not informed of this hearing, was not invited to participate at this hearing and was not provided any opportunity for rebuttal or investigation."
The commission followed its custom of inviting the federal government to represent the U.S. at the hearing. In this case, U.S. Department of Justice officials testified on U.S. efforts to protect juveniles in prisons by not placing them with adults. They didn't address the situation in Michigan.
New federal rules effective in August require states to offer protections for inmates under 18 or risk a cut in Department of Justice funding. Youthful inmates must not be placed in a housing unit where they'll have contact with adult prisoners, department officials said.
After hearing Matthew's tape, one Department of Justice official said it reminded him of his early work with prison clients, which has "haunted" him.
"This is an issue that is deeply important to the (Department of Justice) and to others," said Jonathan Smith, chief of the special litigation section of the Civil Rights Division.
Smith didn't indicate whether the Justice Department might investigate the matter.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130318/METRO/303180343#ixzz2NuaaZmKi
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