One youth arrested, one hospitalized in latest assault at KY juvenile justice facility
One youth has been charged with second-degree assault and another youth has been hospitalized after “a physical altercation” on Saturday at the Mayfield Youth Development Center in Graves County, according to Kentucky State Police.
The youth development center is one of seven run by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, to hold youths usually between the ages of 14 and 18 in court-ordered state custody.
Police responded to the center late Saturday to respond to a call concerning a fight between juveniles inside the facility, Trooper Sarah Burgess said in a news release. After troopers arrived, juveniles agreed to return to their living units, Burgess said.
State police also responded to a disturbance at the same Mayfield youth development center one week earlier, on Oct. 9, Burgess said. However, no criminal charges were filed by state police at that time, she said.
The Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which oversees the juvenile justice facilities, did not respond to Herald-Leader requests for more information about the multiple incidents.
State officials last Thursday publicly acknowledged serious problems in how the Department of Juvenile Justice is managing its facilities across the state. Lawmakers asked the officials about a string of riots, fires and escapes at the Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center in suburban Louisville.
And a review of recent internal reports by the Herald-Leader shows the problems are not limited to one troubled center. There have been about two dozen substantiated cases at juvenile justice facilities across the state of drug use, inappropriate use of force, poor supervision and other problems in the past 18 months, according to reports.
