For months, no one stopped or questioned Robert Emerson Robinson for leaving his post as a jailer on the boys unit at the Harris County Juvenile Justice Center and going to the girls' floor. Instead, many of the jailer's co-workers covered for him when he did leave.Grits readers are well aware of the sexual abuse allegations that ultimately ended the Texas Youth Commission as an independent agency. In this case, a young girl was allegedly molested while awaiting transfer to a state youth facility, including a final visit the night before she went away. If the facts as alleged in the suit are true, the facility has a rough ride and likely a large civil payout looming in its future. The question now: Was this an isolated incident or the tip of an iceberg?
These allegations are outlined in a civil lawsuit by the parents of the 15-year-old girl, who was housed at the juvenile detention center and allegedly sexually assaulted by Robinson in May.
The teen told authorities Robinson lured her into sexual acts by providing her with candy while she was housed in the facility at 1200 Congress.
Officials fired the 28-year-old jailer about two months before he was charged with sexual assault of a child in October.
Danny and Michelle Hall, the girl's parents, said they filed the suit this week because they are concerned that proper procedures are not being implemented at the juvenile detention center regarding interaction between male jailers and juvenile girls. They want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else's child.
"The fact that Harris County allowed this predator to wander around the juvenile detention center unsupervised, we can only suspect that there are more victims not only from this gentleman, but potentially from other people," said Keith Lapeze, the Halls' attorney.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Jailer allegedly bribed teen for sex in Harris juvenile detention center
Nasty sexual abuse allegations coming out of the Harris County juvenile detention center. Reported the Houston Chronicle:
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21 comments:
The facility is administered by Harris County--- they , not TJJD, have the sole liability in this case.
I don't think I implied otherwise, 2:31, but I agree what you said is the case.
TJJD folks are getting testy, but I am sure if this is the case if you begin pulling back the layers you will find a lot of current issues at TJJD. You can change the name and bring in other leadership, but it is still the same.
Interesting it's a bribery charge. Especially considering under both most state laws and federal law Prisoners are like children in they do not have the RIGHT to concent to sex. Legally sex with a prisoner is RAPE!
So where's the rape charges?
Rod, the charge wasn't bribery but sexual assault of a child. At 15, she was below the age of consent even if she'd been in the free world.
Perhaps "It just shows to go ya" (malaprop intended) that detention facilities of any kind, stripe, age or sex differentiation in the state of Texas are unsafe for even the most vulnerable- female juveniles. You must be so proud, Govenor Goodhair.
Give a new meaning to the question "Want some candy, little girl ?"
Adult Probation UA problems, Now Juvenile Detention child molestation issues...
Maybe key political officials need to quit emphasizing HARRIS County as the #1 one priority to get "over" funded by the State every session?
Seems like there was a number of Juvenile Probation folks bashing the shit out of TYC for all the Sex-capades. AND were adamant that this sort of stuff only happened in TYC not Detention Centers. Well, explain this one.
And guess what, these same juvenile probation employees are running TJJD, funny how this occurred?
If, I, as a private citizen carried out the standard strip search that TDCJ does to women at intake facilities, on the units in Gatesville, and probably the young women in juvenile facilities. I would be charged with a 3G violent aggravated sexual assault criminal offense. Yet we trust the people working in these facilities to do the right thing? This is off topic here but look at Dawson State Jail, if a woman would have delivered a baby at home in a toilet and the baby had died, she would have been charged with murder. How come the people on duty at Dawson have not been charged with murder? You want to see a real torture chamber? Look no further than the Crain Unit in Gatesville. I am sure someone has figured out that a runaway teenager is so dangerous they have to be humiliated and degraded as a human being, so strip search them and rape them. Our LEDGE seems to think this is justice too. Well there are always the 2014 elections to vote in new people to try to fix Texas's criminal justice system. The current people in charge have no clue but then again they are too busy lining their pockets with lobbyist money and bribes. I wish I had 55k to give the Governor, so I could buy me a seat on the Criminal Justice Board.
Why doesn't SB 103 apply to county units? Cameras, multiple staff required if off camera, etc.
What is it about the culture of these places? What is it about the people? When I worked at TYC it was said that if you have a friend at TYC, you don't need an enemy.
Looks like a bunch of people were waiting for something like this to happen in the probation area so they could get all righteous and get the finger pointed away from them. The fact is male staff should have little to no contact with female juveniles that are locked up. Too many kids locked up? Yes. Just like adults. And the sex issues happen all over the world. Get real and come up with solutions. And then see that predators will still manage to abuse. More cameras-Yes. Convincing Commishes to pay-hard.
There are actually more female staff having relaionships with inmates (juvenile and adult) that there are male employess having relationships with women inmates. So the same would be true in this case as well????
It amazes me when you hear about female teachers in public ISD's having relationships wwith young school boys and no one raises an eyebrow. But reverse the roles and make this a male teacher and young girl and oh my GOD. All of this is wrong and the standard should be the same
Oh- and trust me there are more female staff abusing and forceing female inmates to have sex with them on the TDCJ prison units. Especially in Gatesville.
These places are what they are. It’s a shame any youngster would allow themselves to be placed in an environment run by predators. And to have to take orders from these buffoons. One can only hope that the young woman in the story is prepared to deal with her situation. Gd forbid she end up in Gatesvile where there is a generational history of predators calling the shots.
Sheldon
Yes, if she ends up in Gatesville, her life is basically over. She will never trust anyone, and will learn to be a real criminal, taught by the Masters running that place. She will be taught to resent every living being on this planet. She will be sexually assaulted several times a day by the guards and their over the top intrusive strip searches that would land any other citizen in that same prison. Gatesville is the only place I have seen where the rules do not apply to the people who should be enforcing them.
What's interesting is that John Whitmire, a few months ago, said that the counties don't need more oversight.
The TDCJ Women's units need a lot more oversight, because there is no oversight at all. Those units are nothing more than torture chambers. Third world countries have nothing on the people running the Gatesville Units.
Yes, anonymous 12:50
I wounder if the same boot that was put to TYC's arse will be put to Harris County's arse.
AND, golly gee all the ombudsman, new oversight board, so on and so on, didn't know about this?
it's true GatesvIlle is a law-less torture chamber
I actually lost my virginaty there on a 6-month stint there.v.v justice must be served so these atrocities will never happen again.
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