MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More teens who say they were abused and neglected by Memphis' Youth Villages group home are coming forward, speaking with the media alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump Wednesday, but the home they said abused them is calling their claims "misleading."
Siblings Latrice and Lawrence Johnson, who Crump said are two more abuse victims from Memphis' Youth Villages, came forward to the media Tuesday after another teen died at the facility in November.
"I was smacked in the face by a staff member," said 19-year-old Latrice Johnson. "I was beat up by a staff member."
Latrice also said she was refused meals, stopped from washing her face, and restrained unnecessarily at the facility. Her brother, Lawrence, said he was knocked unconscious by staff, who didn't tell him what happened when he woke up.
“I recall when I was at the hospital, it was being told that I fell off of a table, I was being very delinquent, and I never really got to tell my story,” Lawrence said.
Crump called out Youth Villages again Wednesday, echoing similar sentiments from when he spoke to the media over the death of 17-year-old Alegend Jones after an incident at the facility in November.
Bartlett Police said Jones died after being taken to the hospital Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, after a “reported incident” at 7386 Memphis-Arlington. That’s the location of the Bartlett campus of Youth Villages. BPD said no further information is available.
Crump said Jones was assaulted by more than a dozen Youth Villages counselors after being returned to the facility from the Shelby County Health Department. Crump said she refused to remove her clothes in front of male counselors for a medical examination, and was "body-slammed" by a counselor, which caused Health Department staff to call the police. It was then Crump said she was sent back to Youth Villages, where she was assaulted by staff, later suffering a brain bleed and dying.
Youth Villages, in response, said Crump's claims about Jones' death were "false and inaccurate." The home said Jones was never alone with male staffers at the health department, and was taken there by female staff. Additionally, Youth Villages said Jones was never asked to undress in front of male staff.
“Brain bleeds just don’t happen to people just walking down the street," Crump said. "If nothing happened wrong to Alegend, let’s just show that video, shut us up, shut me up. I mean transparency."
Youth Villages responded to Wednesday's press conference, saying they were "saddened and alarmed" by the allegations, but continuing to call many of them "inaccurate and misleading."
You can read the full statement from Youth Villages below:
"We have been deeply saddened and alarmed by all allegations of inappropriate conduct and abusive behavior at Youth Villages facilities.
Child abuse and neglect are not tolerated under any circumstances. Allegations of abuse or injury are taken very seriously and reported directly to Child Protective Services. Any allegation is thoroughly investigated by third parties.
Due to confidentiality laws involving children who receive mental and behavioral health care, we cannot discuss the details of individual cases and the health issues related to youth receiving help in our programs. However, we can confirm that many of the statements and comments circulating continue to be inaccurate and misleading.
For nearly 40 years, we have provided care to children and youth with the most serious or severe emotional, behavioral and mental health issues on our residential campuses. The care and well-being of the young people we help is always our most important concern.
Youth Villages sets strict hiring standards for those who work in our facilities. Every potential hire must pass extensive background checks before becoming a Youth Villages employee.
All Youth Villages’ staff are mandated reporters, meaning all our staff are obliged to report any suspicions, evidence, or hearsay of child neglect or abuse to the appropriate authorities and regulatory agencies as required by law. Youth Villages also provides all children ways to report grievances or improper treatment through readily available grievance forms. All grievances are thoroughly investigated and may involve CPS reporting.
At Youth Villages, we provide trauma-informed, intensive therapy and care to children and youth who have the most severe emotional, behavioral and mental health issues in our psychiatric residential treatment facilities. Youth Villages’ residential treatment facilities maintain strict staffing standards to provide a high staff-to-youth ratio to ensure the safety and well-being of those in our care. The young people in our care at our intensive residential treatment facilities are continually supported by physicians, nurse practitioners and nursing staff.
Our staff are trained in behavioral interventions and follow strict protocols when working with the young people we serve. Specifically, our staff are highly trained in the Crisis Prevention Institute’s (CPI) techniques and safety training, which emphasize prevention, intervention, and nonphysical methods of managing disruptive behavior. In addition to this intensive training before working with our youth, our staff receives regular ongoing CPI training to learn the latest, most effective methods for helping children in crisis. All interventions are reviewed internally, and, if necessary, are subject to third-party review."