AUSTIN—Camille Cain, the Executive Director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, issued this statement today regarding the findings of the Texas Rangers, who were asked by the Office of the Governor in July 2021 to determine if illegal activities by certain TJJD staff members had any “patterns, trends, or anomalies” and to examine the “investigative methods deployed for each investigation” by the Office of the Inspector General:

“I would like to thank the Office of the Governor, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Texas Rangers for their thorough review of recent cases involving former staff members who violated the public trust by committing unprofessional or illegal acts. I am pleased that the inquiry reached the following conclusions:

• that the actions of those former employees did not involve any ‘anomalies, trends, or patterns (e.g., the same suspect committing multiple offenses, crimes committed at a specific time of day, crimes at a particular facility, etc.)’
• that the Office of the Inspector General ‘deployed appropriate investigative methods, secured available evidence, submitted relevant evidence for analysis, utilized digital forensic investigators when necessary, and submitted competent and thorough case files to the SPU.’ As a result, the inquiry ‘did not identify any problems related to OIG investigations that need corrective action.’

I am grateful for the dedication of our staff to fulfill the vital mission of our agency on behalf of the youth of Texas and for the diligence and professionalism of Chief Inspector General Forrest Mitchell and his staff. I will reiterate that TJJD will not, under any circumstance, tolerate unprofessional or illegal conduct by our employees. When we receive information suggesting such behavior, our agency quickly removes the individual from the campus and refers all information to the Office of the Inspector General, which vigorously investigates those cases and pursues the highest penalties under the law.

Chief Inspector General Mitchell added, ‘The Office of the Inspector General places the highest priority on investigating inappropriate sexual relationships between staff and juveniles committed to TJJD custody. After reading the Texas Rangers summary, I am pleased to see that they have concurred with the OIG investigative findings, arrest decisions, and the techniques and methods used by the OIG investigators to examine these allegations.’”