AUSTIN – None of 13 confirmed sexual assaults last year by Texas Youth Commission staff on youngsters in their care were prosecuted, according to alarming statistics released Monday by state lawmakers.

In addition, over the past six years, TYC officials reported 6,652 abuse and neglect cases to law enforcement officials, including 39 sexual assaults. In all, authorities declined involvement in 6,634 of the cases – all but 18.

House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden, in laying out the numbers, said something had to be done to "quickly improve the safety of the staff and youth at TYC."

With Gov. Rick Perry lending support, Mr. Madden moved swiftly on two bills that would create an Office of Inspector General with trained peace officers to be placed at each facility, as well as a special unit that would prosecute reported crimes at TYC.

"We're going to try to do this as fast as we can. They're not the cure-all or end-all, or the ultimate solution by any stretch of the imagination, but they are steps," said Mr. Madden, R-Richardson.

Independent research by The Dallas Morning News culled from TYC records shows that 92 employees – some of them contract workers – have been disciplined or terminated since 2000 for sexual conduct with inmates.

Such sexual conduct can be a felony under state law.

The agency said it does not track prosecution of employees, but a check of public databases by The News found that five of the 92 have been convicted. All were convicted of lesser crimes, and none went to prison.

The Legislature, governor and other officials are hurrying through changes to address a growing sexual abuse scandal at TYC.

Top school officials at a West Texas facility sexually abused young male offenders, but a February 2005 investigation by the Texas Rangers was never acted upon by the local prosecutor. Top TYC officials in Austin also did not respond, and a sanitized summary of the case was presented to state leaders only in the past few months.

Other cases of corrections officers abusing youth offenders at another facility also appear to have long been ignored.

Since The News' reports, Mr. Perry has tossed out TYC managers, replacing the executive director and board chairman. He also has named a special master to oversee an investigation and recommend a rehabilitation plan for the agency.

The Legislature has named a special House and Senate committee to investigate. Its first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.

On Monday, Mr. Perry gave the beefed-up investigation and prosecution proposals emergency status so that they might be sped through the legislative process.

"If a local district attorney does not prosecute suspected child molesters, the state must have the authority to step in and enforce the law," Mr. Perry said.

The inspector general will help ensure that investigations "are conducted with greater authority, the power of subpoena and independence from the bureaucracy," the governor said.

Mr. Madden said TYC now has "apprehension specialists" trained to retrieve runaways and youth care investigators trained like Child Protective Services workers. Neither groups are commissioned peace officers, and the criminal cases they try to create are often tainted and can't be used by district attorneys.

In addition, many of TYC's 13 lockdown facilities are in remote areas, and the local district attorney offices are small operations that cover several counties.

Under Mr. Madden's bill, the inspector general's office will be made up of commissioned peace officers and the prosecutors will be independent and work up any criminal complaints at TYC. The prosecution staff will conduct the trial and remove any burden from the local district attorney's office.

Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso, said there are still likely to be problems because of the history of cover-up and that these new employees will still be part of TYC.

"Are we putting the fox in charge of the hen house with a different title?" Mr. Haggerty said.

Mr. Madden agreed it was not perfect but said it "expands the capability significantly of what they have."

In other action, the House added an amendment to a child sexual assault bill that would make it a second-degree felony for state officials to not report or to cover up the exploitation of children by other state officials.

The amendment by Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, was tacked on to "Jessica's Laws," which aim harsh punishment for child sex offenders, including the death penalty.

"We need to protect Jessica whether she was taken out of her home or a TYC facility," Mr. Dunnam said.

Also, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst reported swift action by state officials, saying that audit teams descended on two troubled TYC facilities over the weekend. At TYC headquarters in Austin, the auditors downloaded and burned 35 discs of information and started an analysis of computer records looking for e-mail traffic and to see if there was any attempt to erase information.

On Monday, 2,500 confidential e-mails were sent to TYC employees and pre-addressed envelopes were delivered to TYC inmates asking for information on any criminal activity.

"We are turning over all the rocks and making sure we know everything," Mr. Dewhurst said. "You'd have to have a death wish to go out and try to harm anybody right now."

Staff writer Terrence Stutz contributed to this report. Doug Swanson reported from Dallas.