Police investigating alleged sexual assault at KY juvenile justice center during riot
Kentucky State Police are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a youth inside a females-only unit in the juvenile detention center where a riot took place late Friday, state officials have confirmed.
State and local police were needed to restore order inside the Adair Regional Detention Center, a maximum security facility in Columbia, after a youth “assaulted a staff member, confiscated the staff member’s keys and released other juveniles from their cells,” according to state police. Those injured were taken to a hospital.
During the confusion of the riot, an alleged sexual assault occurred in “a separate secure wing with females only,” said Morgan Hall, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
“Once KSP concludes its investigation and presents the findings, charges will be sought,” Hall said. “The victim has been transferred to another DJJ facility and counselor services are being provided.”
The Adair County facility is one of more than a dozen run statewide by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, which has seen a series of scandals and systemic failures over the years, including youth riots, drug use, inappropriate use of force by staff, poor supervision and — often underlying the other problems — chronic under-staffing.
At a legislative hearing last month in Frankfort, Justice Secretary Kerry Harvey acknowledged some of the juvenile justice centers’ shortcomings and expressed frustration.
“Our staff sometimes make mistakes. Sometimes they make big mistakes,” Harvey said.
As of Monday, Hall said, youth at the Adair County facility were being held on charges including murder, robbery, wanton endangerment, handgun possession and second-degree assault with a firearm. Twenty-five of them have been classified as youthful offenders, which means their criminal cases have been transferred to circuit court.
