youth

Federal lawsuit adds to allegations of child sexual abuse in Maryland youth detention centers

A federal lawsuit could open a new chapter in an escalating legal battle in Maryland, where officials are struggling to address an unexpected onslaught of claims alleging child sexual abuse in state-run juvenile detention facilities.

With thousands of similar claims already pending in state court, the litigation has raised questions about how Maryland will handle the potential financial liability.

The new federal suit, filed Wednesday on behalf of three plaintiffs, seeks $300 million in damages — an amount that far exceeds caps imposed on claims filed in state court. It alleges Maryland juvenile justice leaders knew about a culture of abuse inside youth detention facilities and failed to address it, violating the plaintiffs’ civil rights.

A message seeking comment was left Thursday with the state’s Department of Juvenile Services. The department generally doesn’t comment on pending litigation. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General declined to comment.

An estimated 11,000 plaintiffs have sued in state court, according to the attorneys involved. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said Wednesday that he believes negotiations for a potential settlement are ongoing between attorneys for the plaintiffs and the attorney general’s office. Officials have said the state is facing a potential liability between $3 billion and $4 billion.

Lawsuits started pouring in after a state law passed in 2023 eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims in Maryland. The change came in the immediate aftermath of a scathing investigative report that revealed widespread abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It prompted the archdiocese to file for bankruptcy to protect its assets.

But Maryland leaders didn’t anticipate they’d be facing similar budgetary concerns because of claims against the state’s juvenile justice system.

Facing a potentially enormous payout, lawmakers recently passed an amendment to limit future liabilities. The new law reduces caps on settlements from $890,000 to $400,000 for cases filed after May 31 against state institutions, and from $1.5 million to $700,000 for private institutions. It allows each claimant to receive only one payment, instead of being able to collect for each act of abuse.

Suing in federal court allows plaintiffs to sidestep those limits.

“Despite Maryland’s recent unconstitutional legislative efforts to insulate itself from liability for the horrific sexual brutalization of children in its custody, Maryland cannot run from liability under Federal law,” plaintiffs’ attorney Corey Stern said in a statement. “The United States Constitution was created for all of us, knowing that some would need protection from the tyranny of their political leaders.”

The three plaintiffs in the federal case allege they were sexually abused by staff at two juvenile detention centers. While other lawsuits have mainly presented allegations of abuse occurring decades ago, the federal complaint focuses on events alleged to have happened in 2019 and 2020. The plaintiffs were 14 and 15 years old.

The victims feared their sentences would be extended if they spoke out, according to the complaint. They accuse state officials of turning a blind eye to a “culture of sexual brutalization and abuse.”

Stern said he anticipates more federal claims will be forthcoming.

Skene writes for the Associated Press.

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St. Francis freshman Jaden Soong wins the CIF golf title

Southern California is where golf prodigies Tiger Woods and Patrick Cantlay first began to receive attention as youths, and 14-year-old Jaden Soong, a member of the Class of 2028 at St. Francis High in La Canada, is on the same path.

On Tuesday, he mastered Poppy Hills Country Club, shooting a nine-under-par 62 to win the CIF state championship in Pebble Beach. He had no bogies, seven birdies and an eagle. He’s believed to be the youngest to win a CIF individual golf title. PGA winners Cantlay (Servite) and Rickie Fowler (Murrieta Valley) are former winners of the event.

It’s just another achievement for someone who came close to qualifying for the U.S. Open as a 13-year-old in 2023.

Soong only earned a chance to play on Tuesday by winning two playoffs to receive the invite as an at-large competitor. He said he hadn’t played Poppy Hills since he was 7 or 8 but got a round in before Tuesday’s competition.

He had two birdies and an eagle on the front nine. Then came birdies on No. 10 and No. 11 to go to six under par. He and Evan Liu of Torrey Pines started to pull away from the rest of the field on the par-71 course. Liu was in the clubhouse at seven under after making a birdie on No. 18 to finish with a 64, with Soong at six under with six holes to play.

Soong tied Liu at seven under with a birdie on No. 14, a 369-yard par-four hole. Then he went to eight under with a birdie on the par-three No. 17.

He hit a perfect drive on No. 18, a 503-yard par-five hole and had a 13-foot putt for an eagle before settling for a tap in birdie.

Soong loves pressure and showed his comfort level throughout a round to remember.

Stevenson High in Monterey won the team title.

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L.A. County to pay $2.7 million to teen assaulted in ‘gladiator fight’

Los Angeles County is poised to pay nearly $2.7 million to a teenager whose violent beating at a juvenile hall launched a sprawling criminal investigation into so-called “gladiator fights” inside the troubled facility.

Video of the December 2023 beating, captured on CCTV, showed Jose Rivas Barillas, then 16, being pummeled by six juveniles at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall as probation officers stood idly by. Each youth attacked Rivas Barillas for a few seconds before returning to breakfast. Two officers, later identified as longtime probation officials Taneha Brooks and Shawn Smyles, laughed and shook hands, encouraging the brawl.

“What made this unique is the video,” said Rivas Barillas’ attorney, Jamal Tooson, who said his client suffered a broken nose and traumatic brain injury. “The entire world got to witness the brutality that’s taking place with our children at the hands of the Los Angeles County Probation Department.”

The video, first reported by The Times, prompted a criminal investigation by the state attorney general’s office, which later charged 30 probation officers — including Brooks and Smyles — with allowing and encouraging fights among teens inside county juvenile halls. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta referred to the coordinated brawls as “gladiator fights” and said his office’s CCTV review had turned up 69 such fights during the chaotic first six months after the hall opened in July 2023.

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Footage obtained by the L.A. Times shows a December 2023 incident in which staffers can be seen allowing at least six youths to hit and kick a 17-year-old.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will vote on whether to approve the $2.67-million settlement to Rivas Barillas and his mother, Heidi Barillas Lemus.

According to a public summary of the “corrective action plan” that the Probation Department must produce before a large settlement, officials failed to review CCTV video of the fight and waited too long to transport the teen to a hospital and notify his family.

CCTV monitors are now “staffed routinely,” and officials are working on conducting random audits of the recordings, according to the plan. A spokesperson for the Probation Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Immediately after Rivas Barillas arrived at the Downey juvenile hall, Brooks demanded to know his gang affiliation, according to the claim filed with the county. Brooks said she had heard that Rivas Barillas, who is Latino, was from the “Canoga” gang and that she “hoped he could fight” before directing the other juveniles, all of whom were Black, to attack him in the day room, the claim stated.

After the video made headlines, accounts of teens forced by probation officers to fight have trickled out of Los Padrinos. A teen told The Times in March that officers at Los Padrinos rewarded him with a fast-food “bounty” — In-N-Out, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s — if he beat up kids who misbehaved. The teenager, who had previously been housed in the same unit as Rivas Barillas, said staffers would also organize fights when someone arrived who was thought to be affiliated with a gang that didn’t get along with the youths inside.

“We get a new kid, he’s from the hood. We have other hoods in here. We’re going to get all the fights out of the way,” he said at the time. “They were just setting it up to control the situation.”

Another teenager, identified in court filings as John (Lohjk) Doe, alleged in a lawsuit filed in February that soon after arriving at Los Padrinos in 2024, he was escorted by an officer to the day room. The officer, identified only by the surname Santos, told a youth inside the day room that “you have eleven (11) seconds” and watched as the youth attacked Doe, according to the lawsuit.

On another occasion, the same officer threatened to pepper-spray Doe if he didn’t fight another youth for 20 seconds. The teens who fought were rewarded with extra television and more time out of their cells, the suit alleged.

After the teen told a female officer about the two coordinated brawls, he was transferred to solitary confinement, the suit alleged.

Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.

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Trump threatens to strip federal funds to California over transgender youth athletes

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut federal funding to California if the state continues allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

Trump blasted Gov. Gavin Newsom in an early morning post on Truth Social saying the state under his leadership “continues to ILLEGALLY allow MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.”

“I will speak to him today to find out which way he wants to go???” Trump said of Newsom. “In the meantime I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!”

The president’s post appeared to reference a California high school junior who won the women’s long jump and triple jump during the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet over the weekend.

California is the second state to enter Trump’s cross-hairs over transgender athletes participation in youth sports. Last month, Trump began the process of stripping Maine of federal education dollars in a battle over the issue between the president and Maine Gov. Janet Mills. The dispute immediately landed in court.

Unlike the governor of Maine, Newsom recently said it was “deeply unfair” for people born as biological men to compete in women’s sports. He has not responded to Trump’s post.

When asked at a press conference in April if California should adopt a law restricting transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, the governor said he’s open to the discussion.

“You’re talking about a very small number of people, a very small number of athletes, and my responsibility is to address the pressing issues of our time,” Newsom said, before adding that the conversation has been weaponized by conservatives.

“And to the extent that someone could find that right balance, I would embrace those conversations and the dignity that hopefully presents themselves in that conversation, meaning the humanity around that conversation, not the politics around that conversation.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has threatened to cut funding, particularly education dollars, to California.

In an April letter to Newsom, the Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture conditioned its aid to abiding by Trump directives — and cited a federal investigation into a state law that prohibits schools from automatically notifying families about student gender-identity changes and shields teachers from retaliation for supporting transgender student rights.

California also joined other states in April when it defied a Trump administration order to certify that the state’s 1,000 school districts have ended all diversity, equity and inclusion programs. That Trump order, too, arrived with federal threats to cut billions of dollars in education funding if the state did not comply.

One uncertainty in Trump’s latest social media post was whether he was referring to education funding alone or additional federal support for California — which could include, for example, disaster relief, food aid for the poor and dollars to support low-income housing.

California has long sent more money to Washington, D.C. in federal tax revenue than it receives in federal support, according to Newsom. Regardless, the funding that California relies on is significant.

While it’s difficult to calculate the total dollar amount California receives from the federal government in education funding, some tallies have put the annual figure at $16.3 billion — or about $2,750 per K-12 student. That money includes funding for school meals, students with disabilities and early education Head Start programs.

The state also receives more than $2.1 billion in Title I grants to counteract the effects of poverty — more than any other state — with about $417 million provided to Los Angeles Unified, according to the California Department of Education.

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Lamine Yamal: Barcelona football star inspires youth in hometown Rocafonda | Football News

Rocafonda, Spain – The front page of Spain’s biggest sports tabloid Marca screamed LAMINE YA! (Lamine Now!) as speculation mounted over whether the teenage wonder boy would sign a new contract for FC Barcelona.

Lamine Yamal is expected to renew his contract with Barcelona before he turns 18 in July, his agent Jorge Mendes assured reporters last week.

Deco, the sporting director of Barca, denied reports that Yamal’s agent had asked that the 17-year-old be made the highest paid player in the dressing room, while Spanish media speculated that he could look forward to a 10-fold pay increase to more than 15 million euros ($17m) net per season.

Whatever the astronomical sums involved in signing the gifted winger who helped Barca clinch the La Liga title this season, it will seem a world away from the very humble beginnings of this Spanish sporting prodigy.

Yamal grew up in a poor area of Mataro, an industrial town located about 32km (20 miles) north of Barcelona, but it is a world away from the glitz and glamour of the Catalan capital.

The Barca footballer learned his craft on the streets of Rocafonda, a working-class neighbourhood of Mataro.

About half of the 11,000 people who live in this corner of Mataro are classified as “at risk of poverty”, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute. Many flats appear run down and lack basic modern-day amenities like lifts. One centre in Rocafonda offers help to children who are struggling at school.

With 88 different nationalities in the area, Arabic halal butchers are a common sight.

Evictions are a daily occurrence in Rocafonda as many households struggle to pay the rent, which averages about $1,334 per month, a fortune to many.

Child kicks a football in park.
A teenage boy plays at Club de Futbol Rocafonda. ‘In Rocafonda, more Lamine Yamals and fewer evictions’, reads the graffiti on the steps [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]

Gen-next inspiration

Nevertheless, football – or rather Yamal – gives people hope here.

“In Rocafonda, more Lamine Yamals and fewer evictions”, reads the graffiti at the Club de Futbol Rocafonda, the municipal football pitch.

Children play nearby, perhaps dreaming that maybe, just maybe, they could be the next Lamine Yamal.

Wearing an Argentina shirt, Mohammed Kaddouri, who is a year younger than Yamal, says the Barca football player is an inspiration to young people here.

“Since Lamine, so many people have started playing football and believe they could be like him. It is not just boys but more girls are playing football too,” he says.

His friend Damia Castillo, also 16, met Yamal when he came back to see his family, who still live in the neighbourhood.

“He always talks to us like he is a normal person, not like he is some big star. He is from here, and so are we. It makes you think, you know, maybe it could be me,” Castillo told Al Jazeera.

Kids play football in the park.
Kids play football on the same Rocafonda football pitch used by Lamine Yamal [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]

The Messi effect

Friends said Yamal owes his precocious talents to a baptism of fire playing in the tough streets of Rocafonda.

“Lamine learned to play so well because he started playing with bigger kids. Some of these were bigger than him, and some of them were tough kids,” says family friend Mohammed Ben Serghine.

“Despite what has happened to him with all this fame, he has remained humble, and he is good with the kids when he comes back to Rocafonda to see his family.”

We meet in the Bar El Cordobes, the local bar frequented by Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, who pops in now and again.

On the wall is a yellowing Barca shirt signed by Yamal and replete with his photograph.

Last year, the Spain winger’s father published a photograph on social media of his son, which was taken when he was a baby.

Yamal was cradled by then-Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi. He wrote on social media: “Two beginnings of two legends. It now appears amazingly prescient.”

The Argentina superstar was 20 at the time and had taken part in a promotional campaign for FC Barcelona for UNICEF. Yamal was only five months old when his parents entered him into a raffle and he was paired up with Messi. Yamal’s smiles won over a nervous Messi at the photoshoot.

Statistically, Yamal is ahead of Messi for a 17-year-old player, according to football writer Ryan O’Hanlon of ESPN.

“Broadly, this is the conclusion: [Michael] Owen, Kylian Mbappe and Yamal are the best teenagers in modern soccer history,” he wrote, basing these assertions on the number of goals and assists.

Lionel Messi holding Lamine Yamal.
This photo, taken in September 2007, shows a 20-year-old Barcelona star Lionel Messi cradling Lamine Yamal, who was merely six months old at the time, during a photo session at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain [File: Joan Monfort/AP]

‘304’ celebration

Rocafonda might have been forgotten, like many other fringe, outer-suburban Barcelona neighbourhoods, were it not for Yamal himself.

On the walls, someone has painted the number 304. It might just be graffiti, except for one thing. When Yamal scored a wonder goal against France in the Euro 2024 last year, he celebrated by making the sign three, zero, four with his fingers. It was a reference to the postcode of Rocafonda, which in full reads 08304.

As the world was transfixed by Yamal’s dazzling skills, it was a sign that even when footballers can expect seven- or even eight-figure salaries, some have not forgotten their roots.

At the Bar Familia L Y 304 Rocafonda, run by the player’s uncle, Abdul, you are left in no doubt that Yamal remains faithful to where he came from.

Decked out in photographs of Yamal and signed shirts, in one corner is a tiny, plastic version of the World Cup. It begs the thought: might Yamal one day lift the real thing for Spain?

Interior shot of cafe in Rocafonda.
The walls of Bar Familia L Y 304 Rocafonda, run by Yamal’s uncle, are littered with sporting memorabilia of the town’s most famous footballer [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]

Family is everything

The player’s own story starts 30 years ago when his maternal grandmother, Fatima, arrived from Morocco and took up a job in an old people’s residence.

She worked to bring her seven children over from Morocco and managed as a single mother.

Yamal’s mother, Sheila Ebana, is from Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony in Western Africa. The player’s parents divorced, and when she moved away from Rocafonda, she enrolled him in Club de Futbol La Torreta in Granollers, a nearby town.

Yamal speaks fondly about his mother, who gave him the best childhood she could despite the difficulties she faced.

“Maybe I didn’t have the best childhood, but I didn’t see it. I only saw the beautiful, thanks to her,” he said in an Instagram interview with user tumejorjugada.

Life for both parents has changed dramatically since their son became a superstar.

Ebana now has 258,000 followers on Instagram and has moved to Barcelona. His father has also moved to the Catalan capital.

Shot of Lamine Yamal's football campus pass.
Two shots of Lamine Yamal on a photograph hanging in La Torreta football club [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]

Changing expectations

Yamal started playing for CF La Torreta, a small club with 200 players, when he was only five.

On the window of the club, there is a photograph of the player when he arrived as a small child and another more recent one.

“He came here when he was five years old and stayed just two years before Barcelona came for him,” says Jordi Vizcaino, president of CF La Torreta.

“I still can hardly believe it when I see how far he has gone, when I see Yamal playing for Barca and Spain. He was just a kid when he came here and is still just a kid really.”

Rocio Escandell, president of the Association of Rocafonda Neighbours, has known Yamal and his family all his life.

“Lamine has put Rocafonda on the world map. It is a working-class area with lots of migrants, but he has made people here believe they can be something. It does not have to be a footballer. It might be a doctor. Just to believe,” she told Al Jazeera.

Her nine-year-old daughter, Abril, is proof of how Yamal has changed expectations.

“I have been playing football since I was small, and I score more and more goals. When I am older, I want to be like Lamine,” says Abril.

Lamine Yamal reacts.
Yamal flashes his ‘304’ gesture after scoring a goal for Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium on May 18, 2025, in Barcelona, Spain [Judit Cartiel/Getty Images]

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Youth Diplomacy at the Core of Russian-African Relations

Amid the geopolitical reconfiguration, Russia’s invaluable support for multitude engagement with African countries and integration associations across the continent were aspects of the significant theme thoroughly discussed at the 4th “Russia-Africa Forum: What Next?” and the inaugural Forum of Young Diplomats Russia-Africa from 22nd-25th April, 2025, at the Moscow University of International Affairs (MGIMO), and that week-long event included a plenary session, roundtables, expert and panel discussions, business games, and many others in hybrid format.

As anticipated, the week-long activities, in their totality, gave a new impetus to strengthening Russian-African youth cooperation. More or less, it thus contributed to the preparation of the next second Russia-Africa Foreign Ministers Forum this fall, as well as the third Russia-Africa Summit.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated, in a video message, that the second ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum would take place in one of the African countries in 2025, while the third Russia-Africa summit is planned for 2026. Without a doubt, Russia has set the course for comprehensive interaction with Africa. It has created a new specialized department dedicated to partnership with Africa within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which underscores the importance Russia places on this diplomatic priority.

Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russian-African relations are on the rise, and Moscow would continue to help reinforce the continent’s position as an independent center of power in the emerging multipolar world order. Further, he explained that Russia endorses the desire of Africans to play an active role in world affairs. According to Sergey Lavrov, there would be more efforts toward practical cooperation in trade and economic spheres, which would continue to help Africans in their quest to possess advanced technologies in order to strengthen their political and economic sovereignty. 

Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov, highlighted the potential of organizing a Youth Day within the framework of these meetings, calling the initiative promising. “Today, our country is firmly committed to the comprehensive strengthening of relations with African countries and their regional integration bodies. We look forward to aiming at elevating Russian-African cooperation to a new and higher level,” Mikhail Bogdanov stated.

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said at the plenary session that African countries were taking steps, in the face of current drastic changes, to ensure their political freedom and sovereignty. In a video message to the participants, Nebenzya attributed the multiple crisis situations in many African countries predominantly as a consequence of long years of colonial dependence and consistent opposition to the manifestation of neo-colonial practices in Africa.

Vasily Nebenzya recalled that Russia, in its turn, consistently opposes modern practices of neocolonialism. “Trust in the collective West as a partner is declining everywhere, and there is a growing demand for fundamental changes in the modern system of international relations. Examples of successful cooperation on independent multilateral platforms, such as the Non-Aligned Movement, are multiplying,” he emphasized.

In order to bridge the information gap, Russia’s TASS news agency intends to strengthen its presence in African countries, according to the news agency’s Deputy Director General Mikhail Petrov. So far, compared to the Soviet period, the TASS news agency does not maintain such a large-scale presence in Africa — it currently works in only six African countries. That, however, Mikhail Petrov also highlighted the contributions of TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman to fostering media ties with Africa, noting his long-running interview series Formula of Power. This allows African partners to better understand Russia with Africa and gives indications of building more productive interactions in the near future. The news agency was the general media partner during the Russia-Africa summits in 2019 and 2023.

The discussions on issues, such as the fight against neo-colonial practices to technological and sanctions challenges, continued in 2024 during a media forum held with TASS support on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. “Such a multimedia dialogue, in our opinion, helps promote cooperation in other areas as well and builds mutual trust, which should form the foundation of sound and effective collaboration,” Deputy Director General Mikhail Petrov concluded his discussions with participants at the Moscow-based MGIMO University.

Africa is the continent of the future, and the future is created by young people. This applies fully to foreign policy. Therefore, the Russia-Africa Forum of Young Diplomats is an initiative by the Council of Young Diplomats of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Such a meeting fits in well with numerous MGIMO initiatives devoted to Africa, such as Africa in the Focus of Russian Interests, School of Young Africanists on Food Security, Africa Week, and the MGIMO Model African Union. 

In order to provide a multifaceted field of activity with the necessary resources, the Department for Partnership with Africa was created at the Foreign Ministry in January 2025. Its functions include promoting political, economic, scientific, educational, and cultural ties with the African integration associations. In conclusion, it is worth remembering that Russian-African friendship and partnership have a long history: in the past century, Russia selflessly helped Africans in their courageous struggle for freedom and independence. Advancing relations with the African countries is among Russia’s unconditional priorities, and this approach is enshrined in the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation approved by President Vladimir Putin.

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Judge orders more than 100 moved out of troubled L.A. juvenile hall

A judge approved a plan Friday to move more than 100 youths out of a troubled Los Angeles juvenile hall that has been the site of riots, drug overdoses and so-called “gladiator fights” in recent years.

Los Angeles County Superior Judge Miguel Espinoza signed off on the L.A. County Probation Department’s plan to relocate dozens of detainees from Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, months after a state oversight body ordered the hall to be shut down.

The Downey facility, home to approximately 270 youths, most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 18, has been under fire since last December, when the Board of State and Community Corrections ordered it closed because of repeated failures to meet minimum staffing requirements. The probation department has faced a years-long struggle to get officers to show up to work in the chaotic halls.

But the probation department ignored the state board’s order to shut down. Since the body has no power to enforce its own orders and the California Attorney General’s Office declined to step in, Los Padrinos continued to operate in defiance for months. In that time frame, several youths suffered drug overdoses, a teen was stabbed in the eye and 30 probation officers were indicted for allegedly organizing or allowing brawls between youths.

Acting on a legal challenge brought by the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office, Espinoza last month ordered probation officials to begin shrinking the number of youths held at Los Padrinos so it could comply with state regulations.

Roughly three-quarters of the youths at Los Padrinos are awaiting court hearings connected to violent offenses including murder, attempted murder, assault, robbery, kidnapping and gang crimes, according to the probation department.

The probation department made its plan to de-populate Los Padrinos public earlier this month, promising to remove 103 detainees from the facility by June.

Under the department’s plan, youth who are awaiting trial on cases that could land them in the county’s Secure Youth Treatment Facility will be moved to Barry J. Nidorf Hall in Sylmar. Others will be moved out of Los Padrinos and into the lower-security camps, where some juvenile justice advocates say teens perform much better and are far less likely to act violent.

“This plan reflects our continued commitment to balancing public safety, legal compliance, and the rehabilitative needs of the young people in our care,” the department said in a statement. “It is key to note that the court denied an indiscriminate mass release of youth, and that Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall will not be fully depopulated or closed.”

Espinoza originally weighed shutting down the facility last year when the public defender’s office questioned the legality of its continued operation in defiance of the BSCC. On Friday, he declined to adopt a plan from the Probation Oversight Commission that could have resulted in the release of some youths through a review process.

Some members of the oversight body expressed frustration that Espinoza’s order won’t solve the larger issues that have plagued the probation department for years. Milinda Kakani, a POC board member and the director of youth justice for the Children’s Defense Fund, also noted the moves might cause some youths to backslide by returning them to Nidorf Hall after they had already graduated from the prison-like SYTF, which some derisively refer to as “The Compound.”

“I imagine it’s deeply damaging to a young person to go back to the facility they had worked so hard to get out of,” Kakani said.

Espinoza warned he could take further action if the department’s plan does not bring it into compliance with state regulations. It was not clear when the next BSCC inspection of Los Padrinos would take place and a spokeswoman for the oversight body did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The probation department must provide Espinoza with an update on conditions at Los Padrinos by July.

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