MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office is demanding an immediate and thorough investigation of Racine County’s juvenile detention center after a 15-year-old client was brutally assaulted by staff earlier this year.
Surveillance and body camera footage from the May 27 assault show adult security workers beating and restraining a then-15-year-old child at the Jonathan Delagrave Youth Development and Care Center. Records obtained by the SPD attorney representing the child indicate that three of the four staff members involved in the assault are still employed at the detention center, intensifying concerns about the child’s safety.
The SPD is calling for its client to be immediately transferred from the facility and placed into a group home where he can receive specialized therapy and support.
“I’m devastated. No mother should ever have to watch her child be beaten by the very people entrusted with his safety. Seeing that video and knowing my son is still in that facility is terrifying,” Kianna Reed, the child’s mother, said. “Children in juvenile detention deserve real care and support, not brutality. The staff need proper training and accountability. This cannot be allowed to happen again.”
The child’s family is seeking an attorney to bring a civil lawsuit against Racine County.
Additionally, the SPD is demanding a full-scale investigation into conditions at the juvenile detention center and the qualifications of staff members who interact with children.
“The people in this video should have never been entrusted with caring for children. This is a sickening act of violence,” State Public Defender Jennifer Bias said. “Instead of addressing its failure with transparency and accountability, Racine County has sought to sweep this incident under the rug.”
The Jonathan Delagrave Youth Development and Care Center (JDYDCC) opened on May 1, 2025, just weeks before the incident took place. The 48-bed youth detention facility was built as an alternative to the troubled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools, which were ordered shut down after years of investigations and lawsuits revealed inhumane conditions and rampant abuse.
“Building shiny new prisons won’t put a stop to this kind of horrific abuse,” Bias said. “We need meaningful reforms to the way our children are treated in the juvenile justice system. We need judges who will prioritize alternatives to incarceration and detention workers who value care over punishment.”
Personnel records obtained by the SPD indicate that the security worker who initiated the attack resigned from his position at JDYDCC pending an investigation. A different security worker seen delivering repeated blows to the child was ordered to complete eight hours of remedial training and appears to still be employed at the facility.
Available for comment:
- Assistant State Public Defender Eileen Fredericks, the SPD’s youth defense practice coordinator, is available to discuss evidence-based practices for juvenile rehabilitation and the shortcomings of Wisconsin’s youth prison reform. frederickse@opd.wi.gov
- Kianna Reed, the mother of the now-16-year-old who was assaulted by detention workers earlier this year, can be reached at (262) 939-0865.
