Immigrant children detained at Virginia centre allege abuse

Published Jun 21, 2018

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Washington — Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at a juvenile detention centre in Virginia say they were beaten while handcuffed and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement, left nude and shivering in concrete cells.

The abuse claims against the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center near Staunton, Virginia, are detailed in federal court filings that include a half-dozen sworn statements from Latino teens jailed there for months or years. Multiple detainees say the guards stripped them of their clothes and strapped them to chairs with bags placed over their heads.

Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at the juvenile detention centre say they were beaten while handcuffed and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement, left nude and shivering in concrete cells. Picture: Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center via AP

A former child-development specialist who worked there tells The Associated Press she saw kids with bruises and broken bones. She's not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A person walks into the entrance of the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center in Staunton, Virginia. Picture: Zachary Wajsgras/AP

The centre's lawyers deny all abuse allegations.

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