Guard accused of assaulting youth
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
A male ward at the Hawai‘i Youth Correctional Facility was allegedly assaulted by a guard over the weekend, according to the state Department of Human Services.
The alleged assault was one of two situations at the facility that are under investigation by the department’s Office of Youth Services. In the other case, a boy was injured during a scuffle with facility guards.
Details were not available yesterday, and human services officials could not be reached for comment.
In a written statement, the Office of Youth Services said a boy at the Windward O‘ahu facility was taken to a hospital for injuries he received after allegedly being assaulted. The extent of the boy’s injuries was not released, but the statement said the boy was treated and released.
The unidentified guard was placed on leave without pay pending the outcome of an investigation, state officials said.
In the second incident, a male ward received bruises and scrapes during a struggle with guards, the statement said.
The guards were removing two boys from a room when one resisted.
The boy was treated at the facility’s medical unit and released.
The incidents come on the heels of an investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union last summer that documented numerous reports of alleged abuse at HYCF. The report found “a pattern of egregious conduct and conditions” at both the girls’ and boys’ facilities that included rape and brutality.
Vanessa Chong, ACLU executive director, said she was not aware of last weekend’s incidents, but she said they do “raise fears for the safety of the youths at the facility.”
“The ACLU has had ongoing concerns about the conditions and practices at the facility, and these young adults, confined at the HYCF, are at the mercy of their guards,” Chong said last night. “Assaults of wards should not be tolerated, and we expect the Office of Youth Services’ investigation to be fair, thorough and decisive.”
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
