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Report: State investigating practices at camp for delinquent boys

October 14, 2006
The Associated Press
 
GREENVILLE, Fla.
State juvenile justice officials and other agencies are looking into whether improper and excessive restraint tactics were used at a camp for delinquent boys, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The Greenville Hills Academy has been the subject of more than 280 complaints from youths who called the Department of Children & Families' child abuse hotline in the last couple years, but only 30 reports were verified, records obtained by The Miami Herald showed.

At least one child may have broken his collarbone at the academy last week, and one 16-year-old claimed he was choked at the camp, the newspaper reported.

Department of Juvenile Justice Chief of Staff Cynthia Lorenzo said Saturday that the agency was extremely concerned about allegations of abuse at the camp and opened an investigation about a week ago.

Lorenzo said safety of children under the agency's supervision was the department's top concern, but that she couldn't say much about the investigation while it was still open.

But, she said, "We do not tolerate excessive use of force."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the DCF have also confirmed they are investigating practices at the camp but have declined to release any details about their probe.

The camp is run by contractor Twin Oaks Juvenile Development. The CEO of Twin Oaks, Donnie Read, said Saturday that he looks forward to talking about the situation when he can, but that it wouldn't be appropriate to comment while the probe was ongoing.

The records cited by the Herald showed that guards may have also used a certain type of wrist lock banned two years ago by Juvenile Justice Secretary Anthony Schembri.

Some of the boys at the Greenville camp are mentally retarded or have other special needs.

The state's juvenile justice agency has been under intense scrutiny since the death earlier this year of a 14-year-old at a Panama City boot camp-style facility for juvenile delinquents. That camp was shut down in the wake of the Jan. 6 death of Martin Lee Anderson.

A special prosecutor is looking into Anderson's death, which came after an altercation with several guards.

 

 

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