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YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK Teen sex scandal ignored by AG, others for 2 years Probe widened, involving hundreds of complaints of sexual abuse in system Posted: March 27, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern By
Jerome R. Corsi
The Texas Youth Commission
scandal went unnoticed, says Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski, despite his
numerous attempts, beginning in early 2005, to get local, state and
federal prosecutors to investigate allegations teachers, administrators
and guards had sex with minor male inmates.
Burzynski exposed the situation March 8 in testimony
to the Texas legislature's Joint Committee on Operation and Management of
the TYC. He stated he began his investigation Feb. 23, 2005, after a
phone call from a teacher at the West Texas state school in Pyote, Texas,
alleging another teacher at the school was involved in sexual misconduct
with boy inmates.
In his testimony, Burzynski detailed being rebuffed by federal, state
and local prosecutors for two years.
(Story continues below)
Burzynski presented a timeline asserting his investigation was, in
turn, stonewalled by Ward County District Attorney Randall Reynolds, Texas
Attorney General Greg Abbott, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton and Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales.
All refused to prosecute, he claimed, despite being presented evidence
of sexual abuse at the Pyote school.
Sutton also is under fire for decisions to prosecute two Border Patrol
agents and Deputy Sheriff Gil Hernandez after the alleged intervention of
the Mexican government. Gonzales faces heavy congressional pressure in the
controversy over the recent forced resignations of eight U.S. attorneys.
Burzynski testified that the first serious discussion of prosecution in
the case occurred Feb. 13 in a meeting with Reynolds in the Ward County
District Attorney's Office, only after the story of his investigation
finally broke in Texas newspapers.
Emerging evidence suggests the scandal was systematic and statewide,
perpetrated by a criminal conspiracy of staff employees.
Texas authorities are investigating allegations that pedophiles on the
TYC staff conspired to recruit and hire other pedophiles to engage in
criminal acts of forced sex with the minor inmates.
Among the charges in a Texas Ranger report was that administrators
would rouse boys from their sleep for the purpose of conducting all-night
sex parties.
On March 2, Gov. Rick Perry appointed Jay Kimbrough, his former staff
chief and homeland security director, to serve as "special master" to head
the TYC investigation. On March 17, the entire TYC governing board
resigned.
Ted Royer, spokesman for Perry, told WND Kimbrough's investigation has
found "hundreds of new complaints about abuse and neglect and abuse at
facilities across the state."
"There is a culture at TYC that has all too often turned a blind eye to
sexual abuse and instead of addressing the issue, people have attempted to
cover-up the scandal," Royer said.
TYC spokesman Jim Hurley told WND more than 1,200 complaints are now
being investigated.
"The staff under investigation includes the whole range of TYC staff,
from the top to the bottom," said Hurley, who was asked by Perry's office
to take on the spokesman's job as a special assignment.
Three actual arrests have been made, and more are pending, according to
Hurley, whose permanent job is communications director for the Texas
Department of Insurance.
"There was a failure of leadership in the Texas Youth Commission,"
Hurley explained. "The board failed and the executive director failed."
The resigned board transferred its power to a new acting executive
director, Ed Owens, former deputy director of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice, Hurley said.
Along with the board and the executive director, the TYC also has
dismissed its general counsel, the deputy general counsel, the deputy
executive director and the inspector general.
Hurley confirmed TYC management and staff personnel were hired despite
prior records of felony offenses or previous sexual misconduct.
"Apparently having a prior felony record did not preclude you becoming
a TYC employee," Hurley admitted. "A lot of the vetting of prospective
employees were simply reviewed at the local unit level."
WND asked Hurley if the evidence suggested a group of criminal
pedophiles sexually abusing minor boys were hiring counterparts just like
themselves.
"It is conceivable that you could have a situation like that," Hurley
responded. "In the past week we have conducted criminal background reports
on all TYC employees. We are also looking at the records of every
extension of term that has been issued for every inmate to see if the
people running TYC were extending sentences of these inmates."
Hurley told WND Kimbrough was determined to expose the full extent of
the corruption at TYC.
The TYC has opened up the results of the investigation to the ACLU,
NAACP, (League of United Latin American Citizens, Texas District and
County Attorneys Association and the Special Prosecution Unit at the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice.
At the conclusion of his testimony to the Texas legislature joint
committee, Burzynski spoke personally, saying he wanted to "shed some
light on the real reason why I am here."
"When I interviewed the victims in this case, I saw kids with fear in
their eyes, kids who knew they were trapped in an institution where the
system would not respond to their cries for help," he said.
He emphasized the personal commitment he felt to the victims in the
case.
"Perhaps their family failed them, society failed them, TYC definitely
failed them," he said. "But I promised each one of those victims that I
would try to do everything in my power as a Texas Ranger to insure that
justice would be served and that this didn't happen again. The Rangers
would not fail them, and I made that perfectly clear to each one of them."
Burzynski said he "can only imagine what the students think about the
Ranger who was unable to bring them justice. I feel like I played a very
small part in chipping away at an iceberg."
At the conclusion, he received a standing ovation from the joint
committee and audience in the room.
The Texas Rangers told WND Burzynski was not available to be
interviewed and referred inquiries to the governor's office.
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investigator had tie to smuggler
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of DHS border-agent report lied to Congress
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urged to resign for lie about border agents
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admits lying about jailed border agents
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border agent did report shooting
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accused of hiding smuggler's 2nd drug bust
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Imprisoned
agent's wife: President is a hypocrite
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Jerome R. Corsi is a
staff writer for WND. He received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in
political science in 1972 and has written many books and articles,
including co-authoring with John O'Neill the No. 1 New York Times
best-seller, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against
John Kerry." Corsi's most recent book was authored with Michael Evans: "Showdown with
Nuclear Iran." Dr. Corsi's other recent books include "Black Gold
Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil," which he
co-authored with WND columnist
Craig. R. Smith, and "Atomic Iran."
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