News Room

Perry's office knew abuse wasn't being prosecuted
March 21, 2007

Gov. Rick Perry's staff knew as early as June 2005 that two administrators at a Texas Youth Commission facility were not being prosecuted on claims that they were sexually abusing youths in their custody...

Written by R.G. Ratcliffe, Houston Chronicle

Gainesvillestateschmonareederdmn

Julian Vicente, 18, waits for recreation time at the Gainesville State School. Photo by MONA REEDER of the Dallas Morning News.

Gov. Rick Perry's staff knew as early as June 2005 that two administrators at a Texas Youth Commission facility were not being prosecuted on claims that they were sexually abusing youths in their custody, according to records obtained Tuesday by the Houston Chronicle.

Perry's aides have said that the Youth Commission notified them of the initial investigation in February 2005 and that they thought the case was being pursued by prosecutors until they were told otherwise in October by an aide to state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston.

Also, other records show Perry's office routinely sent written complaints from parents about their children's treatment in Youth Commission facilities to the agency for self-investigation.

Perry and other state leaders have expressed outrage that a Ward County prosecutor allowed sexual abuse allegations against two West Texas State School administrators to go unpursued for two years.

But an e-mail shows that a Youth Commission administrator told a Perry criminal justice staff member in June 2005 that the case was not under prosecution.

In the June 13, 2005, e-mail, Perry staff member Alfonso Royal asked Youth Commission Chief of Staff Joy Anderson: "What is going on in the West Texas investigation?"

Anderson replied 18 minutes later: "Both the assistant superintendent and the principal resigned in lieu of termination. We aren't aware of any pending criminal charges."

View Printer-Friendly Format

Related Stories

The Buck Stops Where?
February 24, 2010

The attack ad could write itself: On Gov. Rick Perry’s watch, Texas weathered a sexual abuse scandal at the Texas Youth Commission, fight clubs at state institutions for the disabled and deaths of kids monitored byChild Protective Services.

"Grover's Tub: TYC in the Tub"
January 28, 2010

Grover Norquist once boasted about the need to shrink government so “small” it could be drowned in the bathtub. Here is the Norquist recipe: Tax cuts for the wealthy, plus budget cuts for state programs, plus hostility to responsible governance equals Grover’s Tub. Good governance was in Grover’s view, the enemy—and destroying it was Grover’s goal.

Senate rejects Burleson woman picked by Perry for parole board
May 14, 2009

In a telephone interview, Perkins expressed disappointment but said she would be willing to serve in another post. The Senate’s action would send her appointment back to the Senate nominations committee to leave the door open for Perry to appoint her to another position.

From the Senator's Desk . . .
March 3, 2009

Grover Norquist once boasted about the need to shrink government so “small” it could be drowned in the bathtub. Here is the Norquist recipe: Tax cuts for the wealthy, plus budget cuts for state programs, plus hostility to responsible governance equals Grover's Tub. Good governance was in Grover's view, the enemy—and destroying it was Grover's goal.

Is TYC worth saving?
January 30, 2009

A state advisory panel voted earlier this month to combine the state prison system for juvenile offenders with the less troubled Juvenile Probation Commission.

Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.