| Two former administrators at a Texas juvenile prison were arrested Tuesday on 13 charges of improper sexual conduct with six students. Former West Texas State School principal John Paul Hernandez and former assistant superintendent Ray E. Brookins each resigned in 2005 as an investigation by Texas Rangers; the case has only recently moved forward as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has taken over the case from a local prosecutor who declined to pursue most cases relating to the school from 2005-2006. The investigating Rangers alleged that they presented their findings to the state and US Attorney offices as well as the Department of Justice, but that no office showed interest in prosecution. Hernandez was charged with nine counts of improper sexual activity with a person in custody and nine counts of improper relationship with a student. Brookins faces up to 20 years in prison for charges of an improper relationship with a student and two years in prison for improper sexual activity with a person in custody. A 2006 US Department of Justice report said that sexual violence in US prisons, perpetrated by both inmates and prison staff, often goes unreported because abused inmates fear a reprisal. Last month, Texas Gov. Rick Perry appointed a commission to review the records of approximately 90 percent of the state's juvenile inmates following allegations by families and community activists that prison officials extended sentences in retaliation for inmates filing grievances. Staff-initiated sexual misconduct constituted 38 percent of allegations. The authors of the report also warned against placing juvenile inmates with the adult prison population, finding that the incidents of rape and abuse are five times higher against juveniles. The report, which was the second in an annual series required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, showed a marked improvement over staff sexual misconduct and harassment since the initial 2004 study.
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