http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/01/02/391322/US-juvenile-inmates-sexually-victimized

1/2/2015

Young inmates held at US juvenile correctional facilities are sexually victimized by staff members at an alarming rate, according to a national survey of juvenile inmates.

About 10 percent of teenagers held in US juvenile facilities reported they were sexually abused in 2013, with more than 80 percent of those incidents involving staff, according to a survey of adolescent inmates published by the US Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Sexual abuse is plaguing juvenile inmate facilities across the US, as youths behind bars experience sexual abuse by staff at a rate that is more than three times that of adult prisoners, national inmate surveys show.

“Youth are exceedingly vulnerable to being victimized in custodial settings,” said Brenda Smith, a professor at American University Washington College of Law who directs the Project on Addressing Prison Rape.

The Justice Department has investigated mistreatment of youths incarcerated in the US in recent…