Justice Ignored
Despite all the attention sex crimes against children have received in the past decade, the Texas justice system, its government and its mental health resources all have a long way to go to help kids.
This series begins with a narrative story about one girl who suffered abuse and sexual trafficking. She realized that law enforcement was more interested in her as a criminal than as a victim.
In the second story, TPR examines the foster placement agency that employed a man who faced allegations of abuse going back a decade. It explores the reasons how he evaded a trial.
The last story examines the biggest sex abuse scandal of the year in Texas and how it resulted in no prosecutions.
This series begins with a narrative story about one girl who suffered abuse and sexual trafficking. She realized that law enforcement was more interested in her as a criminal than as a victim.
In the second story, TPR examines the foster placement agency that employed a man who faced allegations of abuse going back a decade. It explores the reasons how he evaded a trial.
The last story examines the biggest sex abuse scandal of the year in Texas and how it resulted in no prosecutions.
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The center of a TPR investigation was later found to have posed a ‘risk to health or safety of children,’ and the state closed it last month. -
Texas Foster Care and Adoption Services was the subject of TPR's 'Justice Ignored' series, which learned that an executive at the agency was accused of raping his grand niece but kept his job for months even after the state found it likely happened. TFCAS said the state didn't tell them about the abuse.
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A San Antonio-based foster care nonprofit said TPR’s reporting on an accused child-rapist remaining on staff eight months after the allegation is fallacious and threatened legal action against former employees who spoke out. But documents and additional former employees call into question what the organization has told the state and is telling families it serves.
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Sheila Perez stepped down as executive director of Texas Foster Care and Adoption Services, one day after TPR's story citing alleged irregularities at the organization. -
Texas Matters highlights the deep reporting by Paul Flahive into a how Texas failed a young girl who was in the foster care system, was trafficked and eventually died. -
Despite allegations that made national headlines and drew statehouse investigations and federal court attention, no charges were filed against the facility, which was created to care of sex trafficking victims. Former residents at the heart of the scandal are frustrated by what they see as evasions of responsibility and the lack of justice. -
Despite a child sexual assault investigation, a San Antonio foster executive kept his job at Texas Foster Care & Adoption Services for months. -
Shawna Rogers died at 17, after years of abuse, violence and exploitation. The compounding cost of failures — from law enforcement and rehabilitators as well as family — finally proved fatal. In the end, she was blind to those who wanted to help her as they had been blind to her needs for years. Her life stands as a haunting example of how far Texas still has to go to help victims like her.
