A Texas nonprofit organization has recently been accused of violating the Fair Housing Act and employing perpetrators of sexual abuse.
A Texas nonprofit organization has recently been accused of violating the Fair Housing Act and employing perpetrators of sexual abuse.
Southwest Key Programs Incorporated owns numerous shelters that “provide temporary housing to unaccompanied children encountered at the U.S. border.” The organization operates 29 locations in total: four in Texas and others in California and Arizona.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Southwest Key is the largest housing provider for unaccompanied children in the country.
The recent lawsuit states that multiple employees abused children in their care from 2015 through at least 2023. The harassment allegedly “included, among other things, sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments.”
“In search of the American Dream, children often endure perilous journeys on their migration north to the southern border. The sexual harassment alleged in the complaint would destroy any child’s sense of safety turning what was an American Dream into a nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Court documents show that the abused children ranged in age from 5 years old to teenagers.
An alleged incident in 2022, involved a Southwest Key youth care worker who “repeatedly sexually abused” a 5-year-old girl, an 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl in El Paso.
The report includes another incident that spanned from 2019 to 2020. A Southwest Key care worker initiated a “long-term relationship” with a teenage resident. Multiple employees knew of the relationship, but failed to report it. The employee helped several children escape from the shelter.
A Los Fresnos employee was involved in a “relationship with a 16-year-old girl.” Two other care workers at the facility were aware of this inappropriate behavior and encouraged communication between the young girl and their fellow staff member.
Additionally, the Department of Justice asserts that the affected children were discouraged from disclosing this abuse. The young residents were told that reports of abuse would lead to delayed reunification with their families. In some cases, employees stated that they would physically harm children’s loved ones. According to the complaint, Southwest Key employees failed to protect their youth and did not follow standard prevention procedures.
“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. “Sexual abuse of children is a crisis that we can’t ignore or turn a blind eye to. 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.”
Authors: Alexis Kabat and Andy Goldwasser
