300 New Cases of Alleged Abuse Investigated At Juvenile Prisons March 13, 2007 KPRC Channel 2 Houston, March 13, 2007 AUSTIN - Authorities are now looking into about 300 new inmate complaints of abuse within the Texas Youth Commission facilities, with about 70 involving some sort of sexual contact, the chief investigator looking into the troubled agency said Monday. Jay Kimbrough said law enforcement officials who were sent to all TYC prisons and halfway houses last week returned again on Monday to continue their work. Kimbrough said he made surprise visits to youth prisons in Crockett and Corsicana and plans to go to all TYC facilities. He met with some inmates and parents who raised questions about medical care at the facilities. In one case, the mother of a male inmate complained her son had not been given his psychotropic medication while waiting several days to get his prescription filled under the agency contract with the University of Texas Medical Branch. Kimbrough said he ordered officers to drive to a pharmacy to pick up the drugs. In another case, a female inmate said she had been waiting for weeks to get an X-ray of an injured foot. Kimbrough said the foot was obviously swollen when she showed it to him. "I ain't no doctor, but I could look at it and tell there was something wrong it. Investigating complaints, medical care and developing new criminal background checks for TYC employees are just some of the areas Kimbrough said he's working on and pledged a "totally revamped" agency. « Back | The Newsroom »