PREA
Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)
The Judge Mario E. Ramirez Jr. Juvenile Justice Center has zero tolerance towards all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. The Department will take appropriate actions to prevent, detect, and respond to all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment within the Juvenile Detention Center, and Boot Camp Facility. Every allegation of sexual abuse and sexual harassment will be investigated.
The efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment apply to the Department, all facilities under the direct control of the Department, and every private facility with which the Department contracts for the confinement of juveniles under the Department’s supervision.
• PREA Juvenile Detention Final Audit Report
• PREA Juvenile Boot Camp Final Audit Report
• Juvenile Boot Camp Third Reporting
HOW TO REPORT SEXUAL ABUSE AT THE JUDGE MARIO E. RAMIREZ JR. JUVENILE JUSTICE CENTER
Any person(s) who witnesses or learns of an incident of sexual abuse or sexual harassment through an oral or written statement is obligated to report the alleged incident to his/her supervisor, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD), and local law enforcement. All persons are encouraged to report all allegations of sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment immediately. If you have any information regarding a person who has been sexually abused in the Judge Mario E. Ramirez Jr., Juvenile Justice Detention Center, and Boot Camp Facility you may report on their behalf by:
• Calling the Texas Juvenile Justice Department reporting hotline: 1-877-786-7263
• Speaking to any employee, teacher, intern, volunteer, contractor or service provider
Definitions
Substantiated allegation means an allegation that was investigated and determined to have occurred.
Unfounded allegation means an allegation that was investigated and determined not to have occurred.
Unsubstantiated allegation means an allegation that was investigated and the investigation produced insufficient evidence to make a final determination as to whether or not the event occurred.
Abusive Sexual Contacts Only – Unwanted contact with another inmate or any contact with staff that involved touching of the inmate’s buttocks, thighs, penis, breasts, or vagina in a sexual way.
Sexual Harassment – Repeated and unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal comments, gestures, or actions of a derogatory or offensive sexual nature by one inmate directed toward another
Repeated verbal comments or gestures of a sexual nature to an inmate, detainee, or resident by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer, including demeaning references to gender, sexually suggestive or derogatory comments about body or clothing, or obscene language or gestures.
Staff Sexual Misconduct – All incidents of willing and unwilling sexual contact with facility staff, and all incidents of sexual activity that involved oral, anal or vaginal penetration.
Sexual Abuse – Any of the following acts, if the victim does not consent, is coerced into such act by overt or implied threats of violence, or is unable to consent or refuse:
• Sexual contact
• Penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other instrument; and
• Any other intentional touching
• Any attempt, threat, or request to engage in sexual activities
• Any display by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer of his or her uncovered genitalia, buttocks, or breast in the presence of an inmate, detainee, or resident, and
• Voyeurism by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer
Voyeurism – An invasion of privacy of an inmate, detainee, or resident by staff for reasons unrelated to official duties, such as peering at an inmate who is using a toilet in his or her cell to perform bodily functions; requiring an inmate to expose his or her buttocks, genitals, or breasts; or taking images of all or part of an inmate’s naked body or of an inmate performing bodily functions.
Nonconsensual Sexual Acts – Unwanted contact with another inmate or any contact with staff that involve contact with the penis and the vagina or anus; contact between the mouth and the penis, vagina, or anus; penetration of the anal or vaginal opening of another person by a hand, finger, or other object; and rubbing of another person’s penis or vagina by a hand.