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In the 200-page report released Tuesday, Dec. 13, investigators with the state Attorney General's Office claim staff at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center (DCJDC) ran the facility as a "kid jail" that treated detained youths as criminals and fostered an institutional culture "intent on punishment, not reform."
DCJDC first came under review in March 2021, when Delaware County Chief Public Defender Christopher Welsh and First Assistant Public Defender Lee Awbrey wrote a letter to the state Department of Human Services voicing "grave concerns about the health, safety, and well-being of the children in custody."
From the investigation's start, prosecutors said they were frustrated and delayed by DCJDC staff who would not return their calls or schedule meetings with officials.
When they were finally able to tour the facility, investigators found the complex was designed and decorated as a jail for adults accused of serious offenses rather than a rehabilitation center for children. Youths sleep on thin, plastic beds in concrete cell blocks with metal toilets and sinks, prosecutors wrote.
In violation of established guidelines, investigators found staff would routinely swear at detained children, and detailed incidences of hate speech and slurs directed at youths.
In one such incident in 2018, a detention officer allegedly called a 14-year-old boy a "p***y" and a "little b****" because the boy was upset at having to take a test for school. The child became so angry that he punched a window and injured his hand, the report claims.
One former staff member reported hearing coworkers threaten to "f*** up" a child who was apparently misbehaving. A former youth detainee said a staff member threatened to shoot him if they ever encountered one another "on the streets of Chester."
The report also goes on to detail disturbing sexual misconduct allegations by male staff members.
In a specific incident attested by multiple witnesses, one adult is said to have played an R. Kelley song while chasing around a female child and repeating "I'm gonna get you."
When the child said the song was making her uncomfortable, witnesses said the staff member told her that her parents "probably made [her] to" the song.
That incident and others involving the same staffer were reported, but there is no evidence he was ever disciplined, officials said.
One female staffer told authorities that she was instructed during her official training to give male coworkers "two or three chances" before reporting sexually inappropriate behavior.
While investigators say they heard of many allegations of criminal behavior by staff members, the report does not recommend criminal charges be filed. The statute of limitations, a lack of hard evidence, and the passage of time affecting witness' memory would make prosecuting such cases difficult, officials said.
In a statement issued Tuesday after the report's release, Attorney General Joshua Shapiro said he will advocate for the specific reforms recommended by investigators.
The reforms call for direct state oversight of all juvenile detention facilities, a requirement to report all abuse allegations at detention facilities for children, the mandated presence of video cameras in all areas except bedrooms and bathrooms, and the creation of a Joint State Government Commission to study the issue moving forward.
“Juvenile detention centers should be a place where young people can mature and learn from their mistakes,” Shapiro said.
"The Grand Jury found the system failed to protect these children and provide them with the tools they needed to reform and grow, instead abandoning them in a dangerous environment with little to no oversight."
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