Prisons may move youth amid rape probe

TDCJ mulls transfer of young offenders to a different facility

The Texas prison system is considering moving youthful offenders from a Brazoria prison to the former death row unit in Huntsville on the heels of a rape investigation, according to one lawmaker and multiple sources within the agency.

“I’ve heard that it was a done deal,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, after discussing the matter with prison administration officials. “It was explained to me to be a very positive decision to bring that population into a more mainstream (location) and not keep them as isolated as they are.”

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice would confirm only that the program is undergoing a routine review, which includes discussions about possible relocation.

“Programs are consistently reviewed and examined to look at a range of issues,” said TDCJ spokesman Jeremy Desel. “Security, cost and age of unit are all potential things considered.”

The male youthful offender program — which currently houses 27 inmates under 18 — is at the Clemens Unit in Brazoria. Under the new arrangements, Whitmire said, the youths held there would be transferred north to the Ellis Unit in Walker County. ‘Not a safe environment’

But Desel said the larger unit in Huntsville is just one of a “handful” under consideration. Units that house the department’s youth need to meet certain requirements, such as having cellblock housing instead of dormitories.

The discussion of a move comes amid word of a possible sexual assault against one of the teens in the youthful offender program — though Whitmire said it wasn’t clear if the alleged rape played a role in the planned program relocation.

“I can’t tie the two together,” Whitmire said. “But one is too many, and I think that that one incident that I have learned of was probably the impetus.”

In a preliminary briefing about a week ago, Whitmire was told of “a rape involving one of the youths serving as an adult,” he said.

It wasn’t clear when the alleged incident occurred, and the department didn’t offer details.

“Questions involving any specific case are handed to the Office of the Inspector General, which is an independent entity legally tasked with investigation into allegations of a sexual nature,” Desel said. “It would not be our investigation to do.”

Jay Jenkins, an attorney for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, said the possibility of a teen rape was “cause for concern” and should prompt a “thorough” investigation. But the consideration of moving teenage inmates elsewhere offered a spark of hope for advocates, he said.

“Anybody who’s visited Clemens knows that it’s not a pleasant or safe environment for these children,” he said. “We welcome any discussion that involves a better and safer facility for children within the adult criminal justice system.” Timeline uncertain

A number of officers, who asked to remain anonymous citing concerns of retaliation, said they’d been told the move from Clemens would “definitely” happen.

“Clearly the unit is just falling apart,” said one officer, who declined to be named for fear of retaliation. “It’s becoming a security risk to have those kids there.”

Aside from the conditions of the facility, the officer said, the relatively small size of the prison has “made it hard” to keep youthful offenders and adult inmates separate.

The Brazoria lockup, which has a capacity of around 1,200, was established as a prison in 1893. The much larger Ellis Unit, which once housed death row, didn’t open until 1965, and it holds up to about 2,500 inmates.

“Clemens is an older, more remote location, and they thought that population should get more attention in a positive way,” Whitmire said. “I was told that the move was an improvement.”

But Desel stressed the possibility of a transfer is simply under discussion and not yet finalized.

“It is a consistent thing here to examine programs, and examinimg this program would not in any way be unusual,” he said.

It wasn’t immediately clear when a decision might be made one way or the other.

“I don’t have a solid timeline on that,” he said. “I know that it is actively being discussed.”