DALLAS — Pastors and Community leaders are demanding answers from the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Facility.
”The building behind us is supposed to be a place of rehabilitation instead it’s a place of trauma,” Dr. Michael W. Waters, Dallas Black Clergy founder.
They stood out in the hot Texas sun to put the members of the Dallas County Juvenile Board and the director in the hot seat.
”Seriously Dallas County you have decided our children’s lives don’t matter? Seriously Dallas County,” says Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes, Friendship West Pastor.
This coalition of pastors and community activists are angry after we reported about conditions inside the Henry Wade Justice Center.
A whistleblower, a former employee, shared pictures of filthy and unsanitary conditions. Some of the pictures of overflowing toilets are too disturbing to show you.
”You know the living conditions you know when they would come out of the cells was pretty bad.”
The former employee told us juveniles are sometimes held in their cells for 23 hours a day. State law requires they be out for at least 10 hours.
This young lady spoke out at the news conference to talk about what she went through at the age of 14 when she was incarcerated.
”I was denied access to more than a cup of water each day being locked down for 23 hours. It affected me mentally, emotionally, and socially. I became depressed.”
Alfredo Casterjon, the former superintendent of the Henry Wade Justice Center showed up at the news conference. He says he left several months ago after voicing concerns about the living conditions.
“Those pictures that were shared were 100 percent legitimate. Those are the day-to-day living conditions that our youth are currently living in or facing,” Alfredo Casterjon, a former employee.
Judge Cheryl Shannon leads the juvenile detention board. In a previous interview with WFAA, she denied the mistreatment of kids.
”I can absolutely tell you that by and large there are not youth that are in there if you want to call it a cell in their sleeping quarters for days at a time without functioning activities,” Judge Cheryl Shannon, presiding judge.
The Dallas Black clergy, a group of pastors says they’ve been concerned for years and are now demanding a meeting with the juvenile detention board and want answers.
“We want a meeting with you because we want to know the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth because now you all are on trial,” Pastor Haynes.
Late Sunday, Darryl Beatty the director of the juvenile detention department released a statement saying he categorically denies that conditions “are now or were ever inhumane.”
He says he went through the facility and all pods were clean.
WFAA sources say that after our story aired last week, there was a mass cleaning.
Beatty also says he will hold a news conference to address staffing shortages and reduce negative impacts on the youth.