Largest shelter provider for unaccompanied illegal immigrant children has been sexually abusing children since at least 2015

A new lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that the largest shelter provider for unaccompanied minors entering the United States illegally has been a center of child sexual abuse since at least 2015.

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“Staff members subjected unaccompanied children in their care to repeated and unwanted sexual abuse, harassment and misconduct, and a hostile living environment, including aggravated sexual abuse and rape, solicitation of sexual acts, solicitation of nude photographs, solicitation of sexually inappropriate relationships, sexual comments and gestures, lascivious looks, and inappropriate touching,” the Justice Department’s lawsuit states.

The U.S. Department of Justice accuses Southwest Key Programs of knowing about widespread sexual abuse among its employees, including supervisors, and of failing to take action to prevent it.

With a capacity to house 6,350 children, Southwest Key is the largest housing provider for unaccompanied minors in the country and has received approximately $3 billion in government contracts since 2015, when the abuse allegedly began.

According to the nonprofit’s most recent Form 990 filing, Southwest Key received $765,698,713 in federal grants in 2022 alone.

According to internal Southwest Key documents mentioned in the Justice Department’s lawsuit, an employee repeatedly sexually abused three young children in 2022 at the company’s El Paso, Texas, facility: a five-year-old, an eight-year-old and an 11-year-old.

The man reportedly threatened to murder the children’s families if they spoke about the abuse.

In another documented case, a shift supervisor repeatedly raped and threatened a teenage girl, who later testified that she believed other employees were covering for him because they constantly swapped shifts so he could spend more time alone with her.

The lawsuit specifically mentions 14 employees who sexually abused children in the homes and alleges that in some cases other employees knew about the sexual abuse and did nothing.

In many of these cases, perpetrators threatened victims with physical violence if they informed anyone about the abuse.

The Justice Department also accused Southwest Key of consistently ignoring policies to prevent sexual abuse, such as the requirement that two adults be present when checking children in their bedrooms, where there are no cameras.

Cases of sexual abuse have been reported in most of the organization’s current 29 shelters.

Despite the enormity of the alleged crimes, the Justice Department’s lawsuit focuses on gender discrimination in housing allocation rather than punishing those involved for aiding and abetting numerous cases of child rape, suggesting that the Justice Department considers discrimination to be a more serious crime.

Despite facing numerous allegations of child sexual abuse, Southwest Key continues to offer free summer camps for children.