Judge to be updated on immigrant teens' abuse claims inside Virginia facility
ROANOKE, Va. — A judge is set to hold a status conference in a federal civil-rights lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrant teens who allege they were severely abused inside a Virginia juvenile detention center.
The Associated Press reported last month on sworn statements from six Latino teens who detailed abuse they said they endured at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center.
The teens, some of whom are as young as 14, said they were beaten while handcuffed, locked up for long periods in solitary confinement, and left nude and shivering in concrete cells. Multiple detainees say the guards stripped them of their clothes and strapped them to chairs with bags placed over their heads.
Lawyers for the detention facility have denied all allegations of physical abuse.
U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon has scheduled a telephone conference call Tuesday to get an update on the case from lawyers for both sides.
Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered state officials to investigate the claims.
