Embattled AG now accused in teen sex scandal 'cover-up'

[meegbear]

Source: WorldNetDaily.com

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, both already under siege for other matters, are now being accused of failing to prosecute officers of the Texas Youth Commission after a Texas Ranger investigation documented that guards and administrators were sexually abusing the institution's teenage boy inmates.

Among the charges in the Texas Ranger report were that administrators would rouse boys from their sleep for the purpose of conducting all-night sex parties.

<snip>

In the Texas Youth Commission scandal, Texas Ranger official Burzynski received a July 28, 2005, http://www.lonestarproject.net/files/DOJletter.pdf">letter from Bill Baumann, assistant U.S. attorney in Sutton's office, declining prosecution on the argument that under 18 U.S.C. Section 242, the government would have to demonstrate that the boys subjected to sexual abuse sustained "bodily injury." Baumann wrote that, "As you know, our interviews of the victims revealed that none sustained 'bodily injury.'"

<snip>

Baumann's letter went so far as to suggest that the victims may have willingly participated in, or even enjoyed, the acts of pedophilia involved: "As you know, consent is frequently an issue in sexual assault cases. Although none of the victims admit that they consented to the sexual contact, none resisted or voiced any objection to the conduct. Several of the victims suggested that they were simply 'getting off' on the school administrator."

<snip>


Read more: http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54861

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

1. Please consider the source.

WND is hardly reputable. Do you have a better source for this?

[meegbear]

5. Yes, I thought about that ...

Here's where I got it from: http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1154

[UpInArms]

6. go here

www.lonestarproject.net/

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

15. Thanks. n/t

[Uben]

2. Hey!

Can we get Rick Perry tied to this? I'm sure "Good Hair" wouldn't miss out on "fun time"! He he

[China_cat]

3. That's just about the sickest thing I've ever read.

Baumann's letter went so far as to suggest that the victims may have willingly participated in, or even enjoyed, the acts of pedophilia involved: "As you know, consent is frequently an issue in sexual assault cases. Although none of the victims admit that they consented to the sexual contact, none resisted or voiced any objection to the conduct. Several of the victims suggested that they were simply 'getting off' on the school administrator."

How in the hell do you 'consent' to someone who has the power of life and death over you? How do you resist in those circumstances? Say no and your parents are likely to get a phone call saying 'your son hanged himself in his cell' or 'another prisoner killed him', and you KNOW that this can, likely will, and has happened.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. I believe that, legally,

a minor cannot consent--therefore the whole thing is hogwash

[Jackpine Radical]

16. Yeah, but this is Texas.

The age of consent is about 6 down there. 6 months for domestic livestock.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

25. Do you have Texans in your family?

Since my husband is a sixth generation Texan, and since many of our friends are Texans with roots that far back and further, I wouldn't say something like that. But then maybe the descendants of the pioneers are ok, and the "carpetbaggers" are the problem. They say it is, anyway.

[polmaven]

7. Is Baumann related to BillO'???

Sounds like the two of them either think (and I use that word reluctantly) alike or are sharing their research and need to be sent to the principal's office!

[Janice325]

18. Thanks. You beat me to it. I was about to comment about

BillO's recent comments about sexual abuse.

[Gman]

8. Jerome Corssi has been writing articles for WND about the 2 Border Patrol

agents convicted of murder in El Paso. Corsi has ruthlessly attacked Sutton, the USA in El Paso for prosecuting and obtaining convictions of the agents. If WND is the only article found on this, it's probably WND continuing to smear Sutton. BTW, Bush appointed Sutton, a Republican.

[Leilani]

13. There was no murder

The agents shot the drug smuggler in his ass.

He recovered quite quickly, & went on to haul more drugs across the border, which the jury never heard about.

Johnny Sutton is a sleaze bag.

[Gman]

23. You are very correct. There was no murder.

I don't know what the hell I was thinking except that I was still on my first cup of coffee his morning, but it it happened as you describe.

[MrPrax]

20. What about Bill Conroy?

Bill Conroy's collection of investigative pieces here

Here is one of his pieces that was so good that the Guardian took credit for.

Here's something from the NY Times quoting JOHNNY Sutton on why the Feds passed on another related scandal:

Texas, Addressing Sexual Abuse Scandal, May Free Thousands of Its Jailed Youths

HOUSTON, March 23 — Battered by a sexual abuse scandal in its juvenile justice system, Texas may soon free most of the 4,000 jailed youths who have served their minimum sentences but who are still being held, in many cases for reasons that are undetermined.

....

The announcement came as federal officials confirmed an unrelated inquiry into accusations of sexual abuse at a federal center for detained illegal-immigrant children in South Texas. The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that a staff member suspected of molesting children at that center, the Texas Sheltered Care facility in Nixon, east of San Antonio, had been fired and that the F.B.I. had turned the case over to Texas prosecutors.

Johnny Sutton, the United States attorney in San Antonio, confirmed in a statement that his office “worked with the F.B.I. investigating the allegations of improper sexual contact between a staff member of Texas Sheltered Care and minors who were housed at the facility.” But Mr. Sutton added: “We reluctantly concluded that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over any felony offenses allegedly committed. Because the most serious offense which might be brought by this office would at most be a misdemeanor, these allegations may be more effectively addressed by state authorities.”

The shelter is in Gonzales County, whose sheriff, Glen A. Sachtleben, said he was aware of the case but had not been officially notified that the F.B.I. had turned it over to state authorities. Calls left with the local district attorney were not returned.

NY Times

:shrug:

Cute...if you didn't put out, they put more time on you.

Does it really matter if any of this stuff comes from a credible source or not anymore? It's not like elected Democrats are going to do anything different -- :eyes:

[rodeodance]

9. There was another story yesterday on DU about this but I do not recall

the source.

Think it was yesterday.

[Judi Lynn]

10. I'm certain I read about this first in the Houston Chronicle. Of course it's a valid story.

Thanks for posting it.

On edit:

Here's a good link to some stories on the subject by the Dallas News:

http://www.dallasnews.com/investigativereports/tyc//

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Complaints pour in to TYC abuse inquiry

Nearly 300 allegations made since investigator named this month

07:45 AM CDT on Tuesday, March 13, 2007
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
[e-mail]

AUSTIN – The special master investigating allegations of abuse at Texas' juvenile prison facilities said Monday his team has received close to 300 complaints – about 70 of them sexual in nature – since he was appointed by the governor this month.

He also announced the confession and subsequent suspension of a correctional officer at a youth prison in Beaumont – an excessive-force case that was closed by the Texas Youth Commission in the last year even though an inmate had been injured.

Jay Kimbrough, who spent the weekend making surprise visits to youth detention centers, said some of the 300 cases are new; others were reported "months or even years ago."
(snip)

The TYC scandal broke publicly last month after The Dallas Morning News and other media outlets reported that officials ignored signs of sexual abuse of inmates at the West Texas State School in Pyote for more than a year. A TYC internal review found that administrators dismissed or covered up repeated warnings of suspicious behavior by two high-ranking staffers.

Documents show that investigators will confront hundreds of sexual abuse allegations – more than 750 complaints were filed – against guards from all 13 TYC prisons. There are also nine youth halfway houses operated or overseen by the state.
(snip/...)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-tyc_13tex.ART.State.Edition1.44911b8.html

[Ian David]

11. So much for Gonzales saying he has to stay on to "protect the children."

See also:

The Porn Plot Against Prosecutors

<snip>

According to the source, Ward's accusation against Charlton stems from a case he filed in June 2006. That month, Ward ordered Charlton to prosecute Five Star Video, an adult video store that registered on Ward's radar when it mailed copies of the DVD's Gag Factor 18, Filthy Things 6, Gag Factor 15, and American Bukkake 13 to customers across state lines. Charlton agreed to take the case, but as the source told me, Ward implored him to attach an additional US Attorney to it. Concerned about wasting the already limited resources at his disposal on a case of dubious value, Charlton hesitated. Despite his misgivings, he assigned the additional prosecutor--a key fact missing from the White House e-mails.

Ward's endless stream of mandates, the source revealed, were a source of frustration to many US Attorneys. "There were countless child obscenity cases crying out to be prosecuted," the source told me, "but Ward wanted to focus on cases involving consenting adults. That's just not a good way of dedicating resources. When you have so many children being harmed, why not allocate your resources towards that?"

Ward's heedless prosecutions of legally available pornography reflected more than his ideology; they also defined his power within the Justice Department. Once Bush began his second term in the White House, Gonzales declared the prosecution of pornography portraying sex acts between consenting adults "one of the top priorities" of his department. He signed off on an FBI headquarters memo that recruited agents for an anti-porn task force. That memo stated that prosecutions would focus particularly on material depicting "bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior." These acts, according to the memo, were most likely to offend local juries.

More:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070402/blumenthal

Please, won't someone think of the CHILDREN???

[Doctor_J]

17. and that he "grew up with nothing but (his) integrity"

Yeesh

[Janice325]

19. God, this is making me even more ill.

What's with so many of the Repukes and their obsession, IMO, with any almost kind of sexual activity, except the "married kind."

[MannyGoldstein]

12. It's Really Sad

I'm incredibly cynical - but no matter how low my expectations are, Bush et al always succeed in lowering the bar still further.

At this point, I'd believe anything about the Bush crew.

[youngdem]

14. I used to work for a private camp for sexually abusive teens taken from TYC

TYC systemic abuse is real, and only the tip of the iceberg. These kids are hidden in a system full of underpaid people who don't care about these children, and many of our kids had described sexual and physical abuse at the hands of a facility faculty member and even foster parents, sadly.

TYC is an underfunded organization specializing in legalized child abuse and torture. We used to go pick up new admits at the local juvenile jail, and the conditions were ATROCIOUS, and the kids over time had REMARKABLY similar stories of physical abuse, sexual grooming and other types of exploitation during their stay in the system.

As far as Gonzalez's personal involvement, who knows. But he sure seems like a world class enabler of human rights abuses to me, so it doesn't at all seem a stretch that he would have been aware of how bad TYC really was. But he couldn't bring it up even if he cared, because his buddy was in the Governor's mansion about to run for President and he was on the fringes of the cabal. He couldn't stain Bush with this even if he cared.

[Javaman]

21. Perhaps they will also investigate his involvement in funeralgate...

I can always hope.

[Warren]

22. REPUBLICAN FAMILY VALUES

Why is it Republicans like fucking little
boys in the ass? If Clinton had been a pedophile
instead of a womanizer maybe they wouldn't have
impeached him?

[redacted]

24. Absolutely disgusting.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

26. "none resisted or voiced any objection to the conduct"

I feel so much better knowing that. It's not like they were incarcerated, unable to call for help, or in a position where the abusers could exert an overpowering psychological and physical influence on them.


Oh, wait.....

[kerry-is-my-prez]

27. Here's an article in Find Law about it...

http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/03-09-2007/d527000dd6600bed.html

Texas Ranger tells lawmakers his investigation into youth prisoner abuse was ignored
APRIL CASTRO Associated Press Writer

(AP) - AUSTIN-A Texas Ranger told lawmakers he was stymied in his two-year struggle to bring justice for the alleged victims of an expanding sex abuse scandal in the state's youth prison system.

The testimony by Brian Burzynski before a select committee of legislators comes shortly after state leaders this week dispatched law enforcement officials to all 22 state youth facilities and the commission's headquarters to investigate claims of sexual abuse of inmates by employees. State prosecutors have opened an investigation and aim to bring the case before a grand jury by May. Lawmakers urged them to hurry.

Burzynski said that he took the results of his 2005 investigation to federal, state and local prosecutors, but none would pursue the case. He had found that key employees of the West Texas State School in Pyote had repeated sexual contact with inmates.

-snip-