Prosecutors
Mull 'Assault' Charges After Videos Show Children Being Dragged and Hit at
Arizona Immigration Detention Center
Maricopa County
prosecutors in Arizona are considering
potential criminal charges after reviewing footage of children being dragged, hit, and
shoved by staff members at a detention center near Phoenix.
On Monday, the
prosecutors received a report documenting an investigation into the alleged
abuse after videos, first
published by the Arizona
Republic, provoked outrage.
Released to the public
over the weekend, the footage showed at least three children being dragged and
shoved by staff members at Hacienda del Sol in Youngtown in mid-September, a
month before the detention center was closed.
One video showed a
staff member pulling a child into a room and then shoving and hitting the
child, while other videos showed staffers dragging two other children.
County officials said Monday that the footage was being examined as evidence of potential "child abuse and assault."
Hacienda del Sol was
one of several detention facilities run by Southwest Key, an organization that has won $1.7 billion in
federal grants in the past decade.
This includes more than $600 million in 2018 for detaining minors who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without parents or guardians, as well as children who have been forcibly separated from their parents by the Trump administration.
This includes more than $600 million in 2018 for detaining minors who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without parents or guardians, as well as children who have been forcibly separated from their parents by the Trump administration.
The Maricopa County
Sheriff's Department previously said last week that the videos did not raise
alarm over possible criminal violations, but Sheriff Paul Penzone said Monday that prosecutors were now determining
"if all aspects of the potential allegations were thoroughly
investigated."