Foster girls, victims of sex trafficking further abused by Texas' shelter staff tasked with protecting them

Employees of a state contracted foster care facility in Texas specializing in children who are victims of sex trafficking were found to have been trafficking those same children.

According to discussions held during an emergency court hearing called by US District Judge Janis Jack on Thursday, reported by the Texas Tribune, seven children, ranging in age from 11 to 17, were trafficked by nine alleged perpetrators. These children remained at the facility for over a month after the abuse was first reported before they were removed from the facility.

Children being housed at The Refuge, a Bastrop facility contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, were sexually and physically abused, and reportedly suffered from neglectful supervision and medical neglect, a current Refuge employee reported to state authorities on January 24.

"The court and the court monitors — watchdogs of the foster care system appointed by the judge — were not notified until Thursday," the Texas Tribune reported.

That employee said that a former staff member sold nude photos of two children under the facility’s care, then used the money they received to purchase illegal drugs and alcohol that were subsequently supplied to the children, according to a letter from the Department of Family Protective Services filed on Thursday.

"Has the governor seen it?" Jack asked, referring to the letter. No one answered, the Texas Tribune reported.

In a statement released on Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced an immediate investigation by the Texas Rangers into reports of child sex trafficking at The Refuge, also directing the Texas Rangers to arrest and pursue criminal charges against those that were involved.

"The reports of child sex trafficking at The Refuge in Bastrop are abhorrent," said Abbott. "Child abuse of any kind won’t be tolerated in the state of Texas, and we are committed to ensuring these despicable perpetrators are brought to justice and punished to the fullest extent of the law. No child should ever suffer the atrocities of trafficking. I expect a thorough and prompt investigation by the Texas Rangers into these horrific crimes."

"Rich Richman, DFPS associate commissioner for child protective investigation, told the court the children weren’t immediately removed from the facility because investigators thought the person responsible had been fired," the Texas Tribune reported.

While a suspect has been arrested, several staff members were found to be allegedly involved in the abuse of the children, some of which were not removed from their positions immediately. DFPS expects further arrests to be made in the case.

Several staff members were removed between the first report on January 24 and March 4, but DFPS said that during the investigation they "discovered several additional staff members still employed at the operation appeared to be involved, and that many of them were related to one another by blood or marriage and/or were cohabiting," according to the letter cited by the Texas Tribune.

The operation’s residential care director is now also believed to have known about the sexual abuse that occurred.

The children were not removed from the facility by DFPS until Wednesday, five weeks after the first report of abuse.

DFPS sent Child Protective Services staff and off-duty law enforcement to the facility to "ensure the youth’s safety" one day prior.

Eight of the nine children have been placed at other facilities specializing in serving victims of commercial sex trafficking. The remaining child refused to be placed at another facility, and DFPS is currently searching for another placement.

"This is just shocking and shameful. Children are being subjected to terrible abuse in state care, and the agencies say nothing," Paul Yetter, an attorney representing foster care children in the federal lawsuit, said in a statement Thursday.

"Texas is failing its most basic duty: keep these innocent children safe. And we all know who pays the price. Without the vigilance of the court monitors, and the Judge’s jumping into immediate action, who knows what kind of further abuse would be happening," he added.

During Thursday’s hearing, Jack expressed horror over the discovery, and blasted DFPS for not immediately removing the children when the allegations were first reported.

Jack is overseeing a decade-old lawsuit against Texas over its foster care system, and called this event yet another failure of the system.

According to the Texas Tribune, dozens of state contracted facilities have recently closed down for have had their licenses revoked after numerous offenses and subjecting children to dangerous and damaging environments.

In a statement from The Refuge, they said that they are "fully cooperating with authorities" and "hope the alleged perpetrator will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"We understand and respect an over-abundance of need and caution for DFPS to get to the bottom of the facts and we have cooperated fully with DFPS since two un-related events were brought to our attention. The authorities know we acted promptly and swiftly and in full compliance with the law," said Brooke Crowder, Founder & CEO of The Refuge for DMST.

"We work with the most vulnerable population and we care deeply for each of the 70 girls that have been in our care since we opened in 2018. Every girl that comes to The Refuge has her own unique life story, but each one endured the horrible trauma of child sexual exploitation," she continued.

"Our hearts are broken and we are outraged by the actions of former employees whose intent was to harm, not help.  While we are limited in what we can say in order to protect the confidentiality of the girls, I know that the truth will prevail. We are looking forward to a positive resolution from these investigations, and we are confident that we will be providing child survivors of sex trafficking with excellent care for years to come."