TX Youth Commission officer arrested, accused of lying about abuse

[rainbow4321]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/4656316.html

The superintendent of the Texas Youth Commission's intake facility in Marlin was arrested today, charged with falsely telling a Texas Ranger there were no sex abuse accusations at the unit.

Jerome Parsee is charged with making a false statement to a peace officer, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and 180 days in jail.

Also today, officials announced a panel of community activists, prosecutors and juvenile prison officials will review the records of nearly all youth inmates to make sure their sentences haven't been extended unfairly.

Advocates for TYC inmates and their families have complained that sentences are often extended for capricious reasons or in retaliation for filing grievances.


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TX forum has info on how this scandal may be related to Gonzo's AG issues (highers up in the DOJ's chain of command dismissing charges/allegations)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=180&topic_id=42656&mesg_id=42656

[youngdem]

1. I did a brief stint as a conselor and CASA worker for sex offender teens

This is the absolute tip of the iceberg. The main problem is that the amount paid per child to whatever organization ends up watching the ward is WAY, WAY, WAY too low to care for troubled kids, so they end up getting shitty staff, short staff, inexperienced staff, staff paid so poorly that the center can't test for drugs because everyone would fail, staff that has past convictions for child abuse and sexual assault but the centers are too poor and turnover too great to do background checks.

At the place I worked, they had the CHILDREN BUILD THEIR OWN SHELTER (before I got there). It literally looked like a shanty in the very worst parts of Rio's slums, absolutely no exaggeration. (They have since been shut down - I reported them for multiple violations and quit ).

The solution is to pay enough per month that well intended people can actually care for these children appropriately. Otherwise, you get what we have. Then, these kids age out of the system in a few years, and typically are in the adult system for good by the time they are 20 or so.

In my experience with TYC, they are a corrupt, uncaring organization fronted by wingnuts who want to teach these kids tough love lessons !

Dozens of kids have been killed, molested and assaulted by their supposed caretakers. The rest have their lives destroyed in more subtle ways. Great system.