BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Telling his cottage supervisor that another delinquent was raping him didn't protect a youngster at Hamilton County's Hillcrest Training School from repeated assaults within hours, according to a suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
The complaint, filed by attorneys Marc D. Mezibov, Laura A. Abrams and Harvey A. Richman, seeks unspecified damages.
William H. Hamilton, superintendent of the juvenile detention facility, was familiar with the allegations and said county attorneys are addressing at least some of the issues. Beyond that, Mr. Hamilton said, court rules barred him from commenting.
Defendants are the county, Hillcrest, Mr. Hamilton, supervisor Don Smith and social worker Sandy Gravett.
The complaint said the victim, identified only as SJ, was 13 when he was committed to Hillcrest in late 1993. Then, the complaint said:
"Due to his physical and emotional immaturity," SJ "was labeled "cottage clown' and became an easy mark for the older boys. Due to his age and mental handicap, (SJ) was not popular."
Another boy in Elm Cottage, identified only as RB, befriended SJ, and "sometime in April or May of 1994, RB began sneaking into (SJ's) bedroom at night and forced him to engage in sexual acts." Fear silenced SJ until May 26, when he confided in Mr. Smith, supervisor at Elm Cottage, but no one took any "immediate or meaningful action" to investigate the complaint, to obtain medical assistance for SJ or to protect him from further assaults. "Hillcrest staff were merely directed to observe the boys more closely."
That night, RB returned to SJ's room and raped him again, the complaint said.
SJ was taken to Children's Hospital Medical Center only after Ms. Gravett interrogated him and he did not change his story.
RB admitted raping SJ eight times. He was convicted of rape and felonious sexual penetration and sentenced to two years at the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
