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A 6-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in a detention center after being separated from her mother, according to an immigrant rights group.
Documents Obtained by The Nation The girl was abused at the Casa Glendale facility near Phoenix, Arizona, by an older child who was detained there. She was then forced to sign a form saying that she would keep her distance from her attacker.
Identified only as D.L., the girl crossed the border with her mother in El Paso, Texas, to escape gang violence in Guatemala. Two days later, they were separated under the "zero tolerance" policy of President Donald Trump. The girl was then sent to Casa Glendale, operated by Southwest Key Program, which runs 26 immigrant accommodation centers for immigrant children across the country.
![French text: [RTX6CN9L] 19659005] Asylum seeker and former Immigrant detainee Mateo Lemus Campos participates in a protest against the conditions in the Adelanto Immigration Detention Center, outside the ICE headquarters in Los Angeles, California, United States July 24, 2018. </span> <span class=](https://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/styles/embed-lg/public/2018/07/28/rtx6cn9l.jpg)
REUTERS / Lucy Nicholson
The records indicated that the girl had "exhibited sexually inappropriate behavior", prompting the staff to investigate. On June 11, the girl's father – an undocumented immigrant living in California – received a call from Southwest Key staff telling her that her daughter had been abused by one of the boys at the school. , as well as several other girls. The first abuse took place on June 4th.
According to family spokesman Mark Lane, he was told that the center's protocols were modified to ensure that the abuse was not repeated. Although the father asked to speak to a social worker about the abuse, he was never contacted by one.
The next day, D.L. was told to sign a form noting that he had been told to "maintain my distance from other young people involved." DL, who is of "tender age", acknowledged "that it is my responsibility to follow the safety plan".
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However, abuse has continued. D.L.'s father received another call on June 22, telling him that his daughter had been inappropriately touched by the same boy and that she had hit his abuser.
D.L.'s mother was detained in Texas while the abuse occurred. She said The Nation that she "felt really horrible" to be unable to help her daughter. "It was a nightmare.When my husband told me what happened, I felt powerless.He was so small, she was probably so scared, probably afraid to say n & # 39; It was a total nightmare for me. "
The family was then reunited by Families Belong Together, a coalition of civil rights organizations. It is unclear whether they plan to bring legal action against the center where the abuse took place. The institution has so far not responded to requests for comment, just like the Department of Health and Human Services.
DL's mother stated that her daughter was beginning to heal, but the psychological after-effects of her detention are clear. She said that it took several days for DL. She explained that her daughter "told me that she thought I would never be with her again and that she would not be with her anymore. she was going to have to live with another woman. She would not touch me, would not kiss me, and would not kiss me.
The Trump administration claims to have complied with the deadline set by the court to reunite more immigrant youth than their parents, The Hill reported. The authorities identified 1,634 eligible parents for the reunification of a possible 2,551 children aged 5 and over in detention. Another 711 children remain in government custody because their parents are not eligible for reunification or have been found.
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