The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children.
The lawsuit alleged that Southwest Key's employees engaged in the "pervasive" sexual harassment and abuse of children in their shelters since 2015. The alleged offenses included inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, nude photos, inappropriate relationships and sexual comments.
The Justice Department said Southwest Key took “inefficient action to prevent sexual harassment of the children in its care.”
The organization operates 29 shelters in Texas, Arizona and California that provide temporary housing for unaccompanied children.
“Sexual harassment of children in residential shelters, where a child should be safe and secure, is abusive, dehumanizing and unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit seeks relief for children who have been abused and harmed, and meaningful reforms to ensure no child in these shelters is ever subjected to sexual abuse again.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement has given grants to Southwest Key to provide housing and other care for children who stay in the shelters until they are reunited with their immediate families or placed with relatives while their cases are being processed.
“In search of the American Dream, children often endure perilous journeys on their migration north to the southern border,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “The sexual harassment alleged in the complaint would destroy any child’s sense of safety, turning what was an American Dream into a nightmare.”
The lawsuit sought monetary damages to compensate the children affected in the shelters, a civil penalty and a court order barring future discrimination and requiring Southwest Key to take the steps to prevent sexual harassment in the future.
In a statement, Southwest Key disputed the allegations in the DOJ lawsuit.
"We continue to review the complaint, and it does not present the accurate picture of the care and commitment our employees provide to the youth and children," it said in the statement.
The group added that "we are in constant communication and continue to closely partner with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), as we have done so for the past two decades to ensure the children and youth entrusted to our care are safe with us during their short stay with Southwest Key."
