A new federal report has found the number of kids who say they have been sexually victimized in juvenile detention centers has dropped in the U.S. compared with past years.
But remarkably high rates of sexual abuse persist in 12 facilities across the country, including one in eastern Idaho.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics report analyzed data collected during more than 6,000 anonymous interviews last year at nearly 330 juvenile detention facilities. Young people were asked about any forced or coerced sexual contact they experienced, whether by staffers or other kids, ranging from rape to unwanted touching to being shown sexual pictures or movies.
Nationwide, an estimated 7 percent of children in juvenile facilities reported being sexually victimized during the previous 12 months. That’s a drop compared with the last time the survey was done in 2012, when 9.5 percent of youth reported being victimized. Twelve facilities had dramatically higher rates of sexual victimization, including three juvenile residential centers in Florida, three in Texas, and one each in Idaho, Oregon, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio, and New Jersey. Three centers in Florida all saw over 20 percent of youth reported being sexually victimized in the past 12 months.
At the Juvenile Correctional Center in the eastern Idaho town of St. Anthony, nearly 13 percent of youths reported being sexually victimized within the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the Juvenile Corrections Center in Lewiston had no reported incidents. (AP)
