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Detention Center Guard Fired For Sexual Misconduct KXAN learned the alleged misconduct that resulted in the firing of a guard at the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor was sexual in nature. The center is one of only two in the country that detains children and families for non-criminal immigration violations. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, officials gave the media a look inside earlier this year, but this week Williamson County investigators took a closer look. In a statement issued Wednesday the sheriff's office confirmed they investigated a report of officer misconduct, and it was sexual in nature. It went on to say their findings would be turned over to federal investigators, because the misconduct did not fall under local or state statute. "Technically, you're not looking at people who are convicted of crimes, and this isn't an entity that's subject to the sort of state and municipal control as other detention facilities should be," said attorney Wayne Krause of the Texas Civil Rights Project. Krause does not know the specific facts of this case, but a confidential source confirmed to KXAN the incident involved the officer and a detainee. "Officials who are in correctional facilities aren't allowed to have that sort of sexual contact with any person within the facility, however, it appears that the Hutto facility doesn't fall within the definition of a correctional facility, and that's where the loophole starts," Krause said. Since it opened less than a year ago, Hutto has been the center of controversy over everything from education for school-aged detainees to its prison-like interior. "We have some serious questions about whether or not the Hutto facility is the proper way that we should care for immigrants in this country," Krause said. After this most recent allegation, Krause said his organization will be keeping an even closer eye on Hutto. The accused officer was placed on administrative leave immediately after the incident early Sunday morning, and the next day he was fired. The employee's name has not been released, and he has not been arrested or charged with any crime. |
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