Editor's note: this story contains graphic descriptions of alleged sexual violence.
A state report has found staff members at Wayne County’s juvenile detention facility committed multiple violations when they failed to stop the alleged sexual assault of a 12-year-old detainee.
The report outlines, in sickening detail, the alleged events of the night of March 14, 2023. That’s when a juvenile resident was reportedly assaulted by multiple other youths at the detention center.
The report describes the findings of a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services investigation as follows: “It was alleged that Youth A was jumped and raped by Youth B, Youth C, Youth E and Youth F. Staff were reported to be in the office and did not see what happened. Youth A did not say anything to staff at first because the youth threatened him. Staff noticed Youth A to have a swollen eye and brought him to the hospital. All five youth jumped and anally penetrated him on 03/14/2023 between 10:00pm and 11:00pm.”
At times, staff accounts included in the report appear to contradict each other, but some elements are consistent. One is that staff were afraid to enter the area where detainees are housed due to threats and fears of physical violence from detainees, so they stayed in the control room to wait for back-up and didn’t perform required checks, even though at least some were aware of an assault in progress.
The report states that staff that night “did not have the ability or experience” to protect the children in their care." It also found the facility “is not in compliance with all applicable licensing statutes and rules,” and mandates a corrective action plan.
The incident is just one of several reports of deficiencies to come out of the county’s juvenile detention center, which has suffered from understaffing and where overcrowded, decrepit conditions led County Executive Warren Evans to declare a public health emergency last year.
The county has acknowledged chronic problems at the facility, but says blame rests at least partially with the state, which has failed to provide enough long-term residential treatment options for juvenile offenders, forcing them into extended stays at a facility not designed for that purpose.
Just last week, Evans removed state monitors meant to help improve the situation from the detention center. That’s after one state employee was accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old detainee.
