From October 2014 to July 2018, the Office of Refugee Resettlement received 4,556 complaints, including allegations of sexual abuse, harassment and inappropriate behavior. Of those, the Justice Department received 1,303 more serious sex abuse complaints, including 178 allegations of sexual abuse by adult staff, officials said. The majority of the allegations were “inappropriate sexual behaviors” between minors at the facilities, and shelters can often resolve these allegations through counseling and other non-criminal avenues, officials said. Department officials said the majority of allegations weren’t substantiated, and they defended their care of children. A state investigation of one contractor, Texas-based Southwest Key, was prompted by several reports of sexual abuse of immigrant children in Arizona.

Source: Washington Post May 09, 2019 21:01 UTC