Texas Youth Commission: Why Did It Take Perry So Long To Act?

Texas Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick all knew about the acts of sexual violence being perpetrated on youthful offenders at the Texas Youth Commission as early as last fall.

But none bothered to act until this week.

I find it amusing that, though this was the lead paragraph of a Houston Chronicle story on Thursday, that the following fact seems to have been generally swept under the rug:

Gov. Rick Perry’s staff learned last fall of a Texas Rangers investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in 2005 at a West Texas state juvenile facility, but the governor took no major action to reform the Texas Youth Commission until after the report became public last week.

As Kinky Friedman might say, “Why The Hell Not?”

After all, this is the same governor that thought the desire of some TXU fatcats to raise their stock price and pollute the air was worthy of an Executive Order to fast-track 11 coal power plants. He acted mighty fast to fast-track those coal plants.

Yet, when he learns of sexual abuse at a juvenile prison, he does nothing for months.

Perry also acted fast when he thought that he could help his pals at Merck out by mandating use of the HPV vaccine on Texas’ schoolgirls. That popped up almost in the middle of nowhere though similar legislation was before both legislative chambers.

Yet, when it comes to sexual abuse in a prison, it’s business as usual for Perry & Company.

As John at Bay Area Houston points out, what is the deal with Republicans and cover-ups when it comes to scandals about sex and young people? Do they believe that, because they teach abstinence over-the-top moral values that young people aren’t ever taken advantage of by people in authority?

This is gross negligence on the part of Governor Perry and should make him an accomplice to this abuse after-the-fact. He knew about it. He could have stopped it. He did nothing.

Worse than that, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) form a triumvirate of back-turners on the critical issue, playing Hear No, See No, and Read No Evil because they, too, knew about this:

Perry spokesman Ted Royer said the governor, the lieutenant governor and speaker were notified of the original investigation in 2005, but he said the results were given only to TYC.

If the results were only given to TYC but Perry, Craddick and Dewhurst knew about it, then why didn’t they do something? Perry could have directed the TYC governing board to conduct an inquiry. Any one of them could have established a Joint Select Committee of the Legislature to look into it. Any one of them could have picked up the phone and called the head of TYC and asked, “What the hell is going on down there?”

None did. Still more:

Royer said the governor’s staff became aware of the report in November when public safety adviser Alfonso Royal was contacted by Alison Brock, the chief of staff for state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston.Royer said Brock asked Royal if the governor’s office could help getting Ward County District Attorney Randall “Randy” Reynolds moving on prosecuting the offending TYC officials.

Royer said Perry’s staff never saw the report, but Royal received the ranger’s notes and talked to the ranger about his investigation.

Royer said the district attorney told Royal he did not have the staff to prosecute the case. He said Royal then coordinated with Reynolds to get him help from the Texas attorney general’s prosecutor assistance office.

Once again, we have a Democrat who tried to get something moving while Republicans were running around playing footsies with utility companies and big business. I can’t wait for the day Alison Brock is called before the Select Committee that Dewhurst and Craddick appointed and tells the world in living color about her attempts on behalf of Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) to get the governor’s office to intervene.

So, they (the Governor’s Office) didn’t receive the report, but they did receive the Texas Ranger’s notes. That should have been sufficient, although I for one do not believe that they never saw the report in November.

Regardless of the role the Office of Prosecutor Assistance played in this (the involvement of the Office of Attorney General is a whole different ball of wax), Perry should have done something. His staff knew. If they didn’t tell him personally, then he needs to dump his staff.

I can see Perry not being notified if, say, someone over at the Texas Building & Procurement Commission misplaced a case of paper clips, but the staff not notifying the governor (if that is the case) that there are allegations of sex abuse in a youth correctional facility is a dereliction of duty to the taxpayers of Texas, the children confined therein, and the justice system for it not to have been reported to the governor.

If, however, his staff reported it to Perry and he personally did nothing, then the fault lies with Governor Perry.

In an administration full of scandals and mini-scandals, this will stand out as one of the worst. Forget that he handed the Texas Legislature to Tom DeLay for half of 2003. Forget that he basically gave a utility company carte blanche to pollute Texas skies for generations to come. He stood by while children were sexually abused.

That these are incarcerated children doesn’t make it any better. The reason for the Texas Youth Commission is, primarily, to rehabilitate offenders—not send them out in to the world in a worse state than when they came in.

Once again, the Republican Administration has failed Texas.

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