Thursday, October 2, 2014

Immigrant Women Sexually Abused By U.S. Detention Center Staff, Complaint Alleges

Staff at a detention center in Karnes City, Texas, traded sex with immigrant women for money and promises for help, according to a complaint filed Thursday.



The Karnes Detention Center.


AP Photo/Eric Gay


The complaint was filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and others this week. It includes a number of potentially damning allegations against the staff and guards at the Karnes City, Texas, facility. Including:


• That staff members removed "female detainees from their cells late in the late evening and early morning hours for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts."


• That staff members called the women their "novias," or "girlfriends."


• That staff members exchanged sexual favors for money, as well as promises of legal assistance and shelter when the women were freed.


• That staff members kissed, fondled and groped women in front of children and others at the facility.


• That staff members tried to cover all of this up.



A Honduran mother holds her toddler son at a detainee processing center in McAllen, Texas, on April 11.


John Moore / Getty Images News


Among other things, MALDEF also claims that the guards at the facility are mostly male, and that they "have free access to the detention cells and the women and children at any time."


A representative for the Karnes County Residential Center did not immediately return BuzzFeed News' request for comment Thursday.




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