ACLU sues youth prison
in alleged gay bashing

Guards and an administrator at the state's youth prison taunted, harassed and unfairly punished one transgender and two homosexual inmates as recently as last month, a lawsuit filed yesterday alleges.

The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the inmates, also alleges that state officials knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it. The case comes less than a month after a U.S. Justice Department report blasted the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, saying training for guards is deficient and abuse "often goes unreported and uninvestigated."

Lois Perrin, ACLU-Hawaii legal director, said the three youths named in the suit only by their initials contacted her separately beginning in March. The 62-page suit chronicles several alleged incidents of abuse involving the youths.

In one case a lesbian identified as "R.G." alleged that a guard told her "that being gay is disgusting" and "being gay is not of God and that she will go to hell." The suit also alleges that the facility's administrator, Kaleve Tufono-Iosefa, convened a meeting of female inmates in April to discuss R.G.'s relationship with another female youth and "come up with rules and consequences" if it continued.

The two were not allowed to talk, make hand signals or write letters to each other. According to the suit, Tufono-Iosefa told R.G. the inmates "had come up with these rules because they were 'disgusted' by the two girls' relationship."

The suit names Tufono-Iosefa, Office of Youth Services Director Sharon Agnew, Human Services Department Executive Director Lillian Koller and eight guards as defendants. It seeks an undisclosed amount of punitive damages. According to the suit, Koller, Tufono-Iosefa and Agnew knew about the alleged abuses and failed to conduct inquiries to stop them.

Tufono-Iosefa did not return a call for comment yesterday. Agnew and state Department of Human Services spokesman Derick Dahilig said they could not comment because they had not yet reviewed the case.

Perrin said she hopes the suit will change conditions at the facility for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The three named in the suit are not currently at the Kailua facility. Two are 18, including "R.G."

According to the suit, "J.D." was tormented and abused by inmates because "he was perceived to be gay." When he complained to guards, he was put in isolation.

Meanwhile, "C.P.," a minor identified in the suit as a "transgender girl," was housed with female inmates for most of 2004, then transferred to the boys' ward against the advice of the facility's psychologists, counselors and medical staff, and finally put in isolation. When C.P. first arrived at the facility, guards threatened to cut her hair and "send her over to the boys," the suit says.

The ACLU has long been looking into conditions at the youth facility. In 2003 the civil rights group issued a report that alleged youths were being held in overcrowded, unsanitary and abusive conditions. After the report, Gov. Linda Lingle removed the facility's top two administrators, and criminal investigations were opened. One guard was convicted last year of raping a female inmate. The Justice Department started investigating in August 2004.