Posted on Sat, Apr. 01, 2006
No charges in death of teen
at Lancaster County behavioral center
Associated Press
EPHRATA, Pa. - No charges will be filed in the
case of a teenage boy who died at a behavioral treatment center
after reportedly being restrained for disruptive behavior,
authorities said.
An autopsy showed that Giovanni Aletriz, 16, of
Allentown, had an undiagnosed heart condition that could have
contributed to his death while he was being restrained at the
SummitQuest Academy on Feb. 4, Lancaster County District Attorney
Donald Totaro said Friday.
"Although some may legitimately question the
wisdom of using manual restraints on children, the evidence shows
that these procedures were approved by the Department of Public
Welfare and they were followed by employees of SummitQuest," Totaro
said in a statement.
Aletriz's death was the second one at
SummitQuest in less than two months. Another resident, James White,
17, died in December of what the county coroner determined was
natural causes.
The state Department of Public Welfare has
placed SummitQuest on a six-month provisional license due to
"significant health and safety concerns for the kids at the
facility," department spokeswoman Stacey Ward said.
SummitQuest has appealed that move. Officials
did not return calls for comment.
Aletriz's mother, Cynthia Allen, said her son
was diagnosed as bipolar and struggled with anger problems, and had
been at SummitQuest for three months. She said she was upset that no
charges are being filed in her son's death.
"How are you going to run a behavior and anger
management place when every time you turn around, you're angrily
restraining children?"
SummitQuest is a 129-bed facility for teens and
preteens who have problems with mental health, sexual offenses and
sexually inappropriate behavior.
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