15-year-old boy says he was raped at youth development center

Posted 6:37PM on Saturday 8th June 2002 ( 23 years ago )

AUGUSTA - A 15-year-old boy said he was raped at a youth center during the same time a federal monitor was inspecting the Augusta facility stemming from an unfavorable report on the state's system by the U.S. Department of Justice. According to reports obtained by The Augusta Chronicle, the victim said two boys, both 15, cornered him in a bathroom stall at the Augusta Youth Development Campus on May 31. The boy said one boy pushed him against the wall and held his mouth shut while the other raped him. The assault allegedly took place in the housing center for short-term detainees. In the report, officer Alicia McClain stated that she was standing the bathroom doorway at the time. Another officer, Brandon Washington, said he became concerned when the boys seemed to be taking too long in the bathroom. His report said he found two boys in the same stall, the Augusta newspaper reported. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the case, said Jaci Vickers, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Juvenile Justice. The federal monitors have been examining all of Georgia's youth detention centers as part of a memorandum of agreement resulting from an unfavorable report on the state's system by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2000. In February, an internal investigation at the center found evidence that a nurse had developed an inappropriate relationship with an 18-year-old there. In March, a 15-year-old boy said he was forced to have sex after he and another boy were caught together in a supply closet. In May, the acting director of the Augusta youth center resigned.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/6/193794