Trump administration drops lawsuit against company over migrant shelter abuse

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that it stopped placing children at Southwest Key Programs’ locations “out of continuing concerns relating to these placements” and would review grants awarded to the provider, according to the AP.

“In view of the agency’s action, the Department of Justice has dismissed its lawsuit against Southwest Key,” HHS said in a statement, as reported by AP.

Southwest Key welcomes dismissal

Southwest Key Programs welcomed the decision. “Southwest Key strongly denied the claims relating to child sexual abuse in our shelters, and there is no settlement or payment required,” AP quoted the company as saying. “We always believed the facts would prove the allegations to be without merit. We thank the Government for its commitment to reviewing the whole record and dropping the case with prejudice.”

What did the lawsuit allege?

The lawsuit detailed accusations against Southwest Key employees, including supervisors, alleging they raped, inappropriately touched, or solicited sex and nude images from children in their care.

According to the complaint, a worker at the Casa Franklin shelter in El Paso, Texas, “repeatedly sexually abused” three girls of ages 5, 8, and 11.

In another case, an employee at a shelter in Mesa, Arizona, allegedly took a 15-year-old boy to a hotel and paid him to perform sexual acts over several days in 2020, according to AP.

The lawsuit stated that the children were warned not to report the abuse and were threatened with violence against themselves or their families. Some victims testified that other workers knew about it but failed to report it, AP reported.

(With inputs from AP)