ACLU wants federal investigation of Kentucky’s juvenile jails

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky is now asking the feds to step in after numerous allegations of deplorable and abusive conditions at the Adair County Juvenile Detention facility.

“What we did recently was submit an intake request to the Department of Justice who has more ability than we do frankly, to assess the conditions, start an investigation, maybe negotiate a consent decree or bring a lawsuit on their own,” Kevin Muench, a legal fellow with the ACLU of Kentucky said.

For the past year WAVE News Troubleshooters exposed allegations of assaults, and claims that children were not being fed as a form of punishment, locked in their cells for weeks on end, received zero schooling and were not allowed to take showers - something we found staff was making fun of on social media.

Recently, allegations of sexual relations between a corrections officer and teen detainees have also surfaced at the Campbell County facility. The information was gathered through open records, leaked documents, and a lawsuit.

“It’s sort of more of the same. These systems are very difficult to hold accountable, politically and legally by filing lawsuits,” Muench said. “Very difficult nuts to crack so I think the important thing is for folks like us to make as much noise as we can because there are horrible conditions.”

In a statement to Troubleshooters, the Department of Justice said they would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

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