11-12-2005, 09:50 PM
Autistic Teen in lockup called `a burden'
An investigation into the alleged rape of a mentally disabled teen shows juvenile justice authorities found caring for him too unpleasant. So they allowed other inmates to do it.
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Miami Herald
cmarbin@herald.com
Guards at the Tallahassee juvenile detention center were so unprepared to care for a severally mentally disabled 15-year-old inmate that a staffer had to buy diapers for him at a local Wal-Mart.
Linda Edwards-Ellis, the lockup's superintendent, told Department of Juvenile Justice administrators that the youth ''was a burden,'' and that caring for him ''would exhaust her staff,'' according to a 72-page inspector general report released late Wednesday by DJJ.
The youth, who has an IQ of 32 and cannot communicate, allegedly was raped at least twice last summer by another inmate -- a 17-year-old accused sex offender whom staff members allowed to bathe the disabled boy and change his diaper. The 17-year-old was charged in July by Tallahassee police with two counts of sexual assault in the case.
Meanwhile, a separate probe is underway into the disappearance of videotapes from a cabinet at the jail that had been broken into twice. The report says jail officials failed to investigate what happened to the tapes, which recorded activity in the lockup. According to the report, 13 youths detained at the facility told investigators they saw the accused sex offender, Lee Donton, bathe the disabled child and change his diaper. Seven detainees testified that inmates other than Donton were allowed to take care of the disabled boy -- though department policy clearly forbids it. The youth has since turned 16.
The report, an exhaustive look at what happened to the boy during his month-long stay, led to the firings of seven employees of the Tallahassee detention center, including Edwards-Ellis. Five other employees were either demoted or disciplined.
The investigation was prompted after two detainees at the lockup complained that they saw Donton having sex with the disabled teen -- once in a cell, and another time in a shower area.
NO SUITABLE HOME
The disabled teen ended up in the lockup in May after a judge refused to release him back to the custody of an elderly grandmother and aunt whom he had been accused of mistreating. Officials at other state social service agencies were unable to find him a suitable home.
Donton was allowed to take care of the youth, the report suggests, because staff members found the task too unpleasant.
With the cognitive skills of an infant or toddler, the autistic and mentally disabled youth played with blocks and watched television at the lockup. Other kids at the detention center teased him about his offensive odor, which apparently was caused by his inability to control his bowels.
A senior juvenile detention officer, Hatim Seifuddin, allegedly told the boy's social worker that guards avoided the boy's hygiene needs. ''We don't like to do all the stuff it takes to maintain him,'' Seifuddin is quoted as saying by Victor Williams, the boy's social worker at the Public Defender's Office.
''It was difficult for . . . staff to watch 30 youths and take care of'' the disabled teen, a former lockup supervisor, Herman Styles, told investigators. ''Staff members did not have proper training to deal with someone like'' the teen, he said.
CONCERNS EXPRESSED
But when Styles expressed concerns about the youth's care to his bosses, he said, and the supervisors offered no advice on how to deal with the boy.
Videotapes at the lockup, which might have shed light on what happened to the youth, have disappeared, the report says. Edwards-Ellis told police that a file cabinet containing surveillance tapes had been broken into twice. Though a lieutenant was assigned to investigate the break-in and inventory the tapes, the report says the investigation never occured.
The lieutenant asked to investigate the break-in, shift commander Donald Williams, already had caught the eye of authorities when he was quoted in an e-mail as saying ''We have bigger things to worry about right now'' when told that the disabled youth had been placed in the care of an accused sex offender.
E-MAIL TO STAFF
After receiving the June 16 e-mail, Edwards-Ellis sent out a lockup-wide e-mail to staff, informing them that detained youth were not permitted to be caretakers for other detainees, and the e-mail named the alleged rape victim directly.
But, according to the report released Wednesday, ''there is no indication Edwards-Ellis did anything further to deal with the issues'' involving the youth.
Tallahassee police confiscated 151 surveillance tapes from two cameras, one aimed at a youth common area and one aimed down a hallway toward detainees' rooms. For one of the days when an assault may have occurred, June 8, police were not able to locate a single tape for the living area where the youth was detained.
The break-in of the filing cabinet, the report says, is being investigated by the department separately.
The report says that detention center logbooks, developed to allow staff to record virtually every detail of life at the lockup, make no mention of alleged reports to staff that the disabled teen had been raped. The logs also don't mention the fact that detainees were assigned to care for the youth.
An investigation into the alleged rape of a mentally disabled teen shows juvenile justice authorities found caring for him too unpleasant. So they allowed other inmates to do it.
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Miami Herald
cmarbin@herald.com
Guards at the Tallahassee juvenile detention center were so unprepared to care for a severally mentally disabled 15-year-old inmate that a staffer had to buy diapers for him at a local Wal-Mart.
Linda Edwards-Ellis, the lockup's superintendent, told Department of Juvenile Justice administrators that the youth ''was a burden,'' and that caring for him ''would exhaust her staff,'' according to a 72-page inspector general report released late Wednesday by DJJ.
The youth, who has an IQ of 32 and cannot communicate, allegedly was raped at least twice last summer by another inmate -- a 17-year-old accused sex offender whom staff members allowed to bathe the disabled boy and change his diaper. The 17-year-old was charged in July by Tallahassee police with two counts of sexual assault in the case.
Meanwhile, a separate probe is underway into the disappearance of videotapes from a cabinet at the jail that had been broken into twice. The report says jail officials failed to investigate what happened to the tapes, which recorded activity in the lockup. According to the report, 13 youths detained at the facility told investigators they saw the accused sex offender, Lee Donton, bathe the disabled child and change his diaper. Seven detainees testified that inmates other than Donton were allowed to take care of the disabled boy -- though department policy clearly forbids it. The youth has since turned 16.
The report, an exhaustive look at what happened to the boy during his month-long stay, led to the firings of seven employees of the Tallahassee detention center, including Edwards-Ellis. Five other employees were either demoted or disciplined.
The investigation was prompted after two detainees at the lockup complained that they saw Donton having sex with the disabled teen -- once in a cell, and another time in a shower area.
NO SUITABLE HOME
The disabled teen ended up in the lockup in May after a judge refused to release him back to the custody of an elderly grandmother and aunt whom he had been accused of mistreating. Officials at other state social service agencies were unable to find him a suitable home.
Donton was allowed to take care of the youth, the report suggests, because staff members found the task too unpleasant.
With the cognitive skills of an infant or toddler, the autistic and mentally disabled youth played with blocks and watched television at the lockup. Other kids at the detention center teased him about his offensive odor, which apparently was caused by his inability to control his bowels.
A senior juvenile detention officer, Hatim Seifuddin, allegedly told the boy's social worker that guards avoided the boy's hygiene needs. ''We don't like to do all the stuff it takes to maintain him,'' Seifuddin is quoted as saying by Victor Williams, the boy's social worker at the Public Defender's Office.
''It was difficult for . . . staff to watch 30 youths and take care of'' the disabled teen, a former lockup supervisor, Herman Styles, told investigators. ''Staff members did not have proper training to deal with someone like'' the teen, he said.
CONCERNS EXPRESSED
But when Styles expressed concerns about the youth's care to his bosses, he said, and the supervisors offered no advice on how to deal with the boy.
Videotapes at the lockup, which might have shed light on what happened to the youth, have disappeared, the report says. Edwards-Ellis told police that a file cabinet containing surveillance tapes had been broken into twice. Though a lieutenant was assigned to investigate the break-in and inventory the tapes, the report says the investigation never occured.
The lieutenant asked to investigate the break-in, shift commander Donald Williams, already had caught the eye of authorities when he was quoted in an e-mail as saying ''We have bigger things to worry about right now'' when told that the disabled youth had been placed in the care of an accused sex offender.
E-MAIL TO STAFF
After receiving the June 16 e-mail, Edwards-Ellis sent out a lockup-wide e-mail to staff, informing them that detained youth were not permitted to be caretakers for other detainees, and the e-mail named the alleged rape victim directly.
But, according to the report released Wednesday, ''there is no indication Edwards-Ellis did anything further to deal with the issues'' involving the youth.
Tallahassee police confiscated 151 surveillance tapes from two cameras, one aimed at a youth common area and one aimed down a hallway toward detainees' rooms. For one of the days when an assault may have occurred, June 8, police were not able to locate a single tape for the living area where the youth was detained.
The break-in of the filing cabinet, the report says, is being investigated by the department separately.
The report says that detention center logbooks, developed to allow staff to record virtually every detail of life at the lockup, make no mention of alleged reports to staff that the disabled teen had been raped. The logs also don't mention the fact that detainees were assigned to care for the youth.