The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs Inc., the leading housing provider for unaccompanied migrant minors, alleging that employees engaged in inappropriate behavior with children, while the organization’s leaders turned a blind eye.
The DOJ announced on Thursday that the lawsuit claims Southwest Key violated the Fair Housing Act by either facilitating or ignoring the inappropriate conduct. The allegations include inappropriate touching, solicitation of explicit photos, and coercive behavior.
According to the lawsuit, employees threatened to harm the children or their families if they reported the incidents. Other staff members allegedly knew about the misconduct but failed to report it.
Southwest Key operates 29 shelters in Texas, Arizona, and California, providing housing for up to 6,350 children. The DOJ claims that since at least 2015, some employees have been involved in inappropriate behavior, including “inappropriate touching, solicitation of explicit photos, and coercive behavior.”
Two employees have been criminally charged. One male employee at the Casa Franklin shelter in El Paso, Texas, allegedly touched three young girls inappropriately. Another employee from a Tucson, Arizona, facility reportedly took an 11-year-old boy to a hotel and coerced him into performing acts over several days.
The DOJ’s statement asserts that Southwest Key did not take sufficient action to prevent this behavior, failed to follow federal guidelines for reporting misconduct, and discouraged children from disclosing these incidents.
Southwest Key receives funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As of May 31, nearly 7,800 children are in HHS-funded facilities, though the exact number in Southwest Key shelters is unknown.
The Associated Press and Blaze News contacted Southwest Key for comment but received no response.
