Isolation cell inside the Augusta YDC
The Augusta, Ga. youth detention denter, where a 17-year-old was beaten to death in November, continues to be the focus of an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). A team of 20 agents conducted interviews Tuesday as part of the murder probe. They were also there to investigation new allegations of sexual contact (some confirmed) between security personnel and detained youth, according to The Athens Banner-Herald.
Gale Buckner, commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), briefed members of the Augusta legislative delegation on the ongoing joint investigation by DJJ and GBI. In the course of the investigation into the death, she said, other allegations were brought to light.
[W]e have both criminally and administratively done our best to ensure that we have been as detailed as possible,” Buckner said. “However, we made the decision — it was a joint decision between GBI and myself — that we wanted to ensure that no one did not have an opportunity to talk in private with an investigator on any topic that he or she might have.”Multiple officials and staff members have already resigned or been fired as part of the investigation, according to The Banner-Herald.
The daylong interviews are voluntary, Buckner said
“Everyone has the right not to cooperate in a criminal investigation,” she said. “However, if you choose not to do that, we can compel you to do that. So I would encourage folks to take advantage of that opportunity.”
Photo by John Ernst courtesy The Augusta Chronicle