A Los Angeles County Judge, Tok, a big step on Friday to close the Los Padrino Youth Hall in Downey, months after a state supervision agency found him “inadequate” to the young people of accommodation.
Judge Miguel Espinoza issued a tentative ruling that it was “illegal” to allow the department of probation of the county of the continuing with juveniles in the facilities.
Espinoza did not immediately order the hall, but told the department of probation to present a plan in early May that detailed how will the approaches of 270 minors relocate, mainly between the ages of 15 and 18, to other safe locations. The parties must return to court next month.
The ruling increases a legal battle of months. The State Board of State and Community Corrections Ordered the godparents closed in December 2024, Finding the department did not have enough personnel to operate safely.
But probation officials ignored the order with the support of the Board of County Supervisors. The Public Defender’s Office of Los Angeles County immediately presented a legal challenge on behalf of one of its clients, which put the matter before Espinoza.
“The chaos of the probation departments creates dangerous domain effects on the safety of our young people. Again and again, in the report after the report, we have seen negligence, poor management and abuse, while officials insist that the change is coming, defender in a statement.” The order of the court today is a step in the right direction. “
The president of the corrections of the State and Community Board, Linda Penner, also celebrated the Espinoza ruling.
“We believe that today’s order is an important and significant step to guarantee the safety and well -being of young people in the custody of Los Angeles County,” he said.
The head of the Department of Probation, Guillermo Viera Rosa, was present for the audience on Friday and refused to comment outside the East La. In the light of the order, the department “will move quickly to implement a depopulation plan for the Los Padrino Youth Hall that is aligned with our broader facilities strategy and prioritize public safety,” said Vicky Waters, director of communications of the presidency.
Approximately three quarters of young people housed in the godparents expect judicial hearings related to violent crimes, such as murder, attempted murder, assault, theft, kidnapping and desire for water.
Viera Rosa traveled to Sacramento last week to appeal the decision of the State Board and community corrections, arguing that the department had with the minimum personnel requirements.
But the Board rejected the appeal, noting that the “staff scarcity” still leads to situations in which young people did not receive adequate medical attention, the time of the school was missing and sat without attention after being beaten with chemical spray. That is sometimes used to suffocate to calm the ised ised ised ised ised ised at at times of always to be aemplion
“We continually have groups with the department’s ability to develop a long -term sustainable solution to address the deficiencies with the staff,” said the last report of the Board. “The personnel documentation of the facilities continues to indicate that the personnel deployed is used to fill in the personnel of the supervision of the young people, an indication that the department continues to depend on a solution that intended to be a short -term solution until 2022”.
In the months after probation, he ignored the order of the corrections of the State and Community Board, the news of misconduct and injury to the young people of the godparents have continued to accumulate.
California Attorney General accused 30 officers last month For allegedly allowing, or in some cases organizing, the so -called “gladiator fights” among young people for months within the godparents. A surveillance video published by The Times in April 2024 He showed a group of standing officers while eight young toke become attacking a teenager, who suffered a broken nose and other injuries. You could see some officers laughing and shaking the hand with the assailants.
Last week, At least three teenagers suffered drug overdose in the godparents. In March, a teenager was stabbed in the school time of the duration of the view, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the incident that spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an investigation that is coming. A spokeswoman for the probation department said the victim suffered only “non -threatening injuries of life.”
A 19 -year -old also claimed last month who had been abused by an employee of the 29 -year -old mental health department for almost a year in the godparents, according to judicial records. His lawyer, Jamal Tooson, said that abuse was only discovered when probation officers found explicit images sent by the employee duration of the adolescent’s room.
The representatives of the departments of probation and mental health declined to comment on that incident. It was not clear if a criminal investigation had opened to the alleged abuse.
The godparents was closed in 2019 due to a decrease in the number of young people imprisoned in Los Angeles County and accusations of excessive force against the officers with respect to their use of pepper spray. The installation was reopened in July 2023, after the State Board and Community Corrections closed the other two children’s rooms of the county of the.
Within a month, A chaotic incident occurred In which seven young people destroyed a table and used the pieces as weapons, attacked the staff and trying to break into the surrounding neighborhood.
