Put a stop to horrors at school for boys

The horrific legacy that belongs to Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys is still adding new chapters. Recently released reports show that on multiple occasions, investigators verified that boys at the North Florida facility were assaulted or medically neglected in the past five years at the hand of Department of Juvenile Justice employees.

DJJ officials say the responsible employees have been fired or resigned. But the rarely seen reports indicate that the culture at the century-old school has not fully rejected barbaric ways in handling wayward boys. Those in power deny that, saying the facility tucked among pine trees in rural Marianna has improved since Gov. Charlie Crist came to office in 2007 and later appointed former St. Petersburg state Rep. Frank Peterman as DJJ secretary. But the new reports — like so many others in the past — speak for themselves. Dozier remains a place of horror for boys. It is time to fix it or shut it down.

It took a court order sought by the St. Petersburg Times to lift the veil on the recent transgressions at Dozier. Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie L. Fulford rightly ruled last week that public interest in knowing about abuse at the state facility outweighed the confidentiality normally afforded such investigations under the state's public records law. The Department of Children and Families, which documented the abuse after receiving complaints about the DJJ facility, concurred that the public's interest would be served.

Among the verified instances of abuse between 2006 and 2008: Two staffers did nothing for 20 minutes when a diabetic boy whose blood sugar was low became unresponsive; a trio of attacks by guards on boys resulted in significant injuries; and an episode in a bathroom, where there should always be supervision, in which three boys engaged in oral sex.

It was a revealing peek at a place where the public can't visit. DJJ, citing state privacy laws, repeatedly denied a Times reporter's request to visit the campus, contending doing so would violate the boys privacy as protected by law. It's a policy that needs to change, especially considering the boys there already have been subject to open court proceedings where their sins were aired.

Such isolation surely has contributed to Dozier's sordid past since employees who largely hail from the same rural community apparently feel they can act with impunity. DJJ would be well served to open the facilities to guests, just as the state's prisons are, as another form of accountability for their employees.

What must not happen is a repeat of history, where state officials accept the horrid tales of Dozier, promise reform and then fade away. Just last year, Crist pledged to investigate thoroughly allegations of some alumni calling themselves the White House Boys, who said they were abused on the campus 50 years ago. But so far the only result has been a wholly unsatisfying audit of the school's cemetery records. Crist and Peterman need to do more. Floridians should demand it.