Detention center employee, teen exchanged sexual letters: Report

RAMSEY CO., Minn. (FOX 9) - An investigation by Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) found a Ramsey County juvenile detention center employee had been exchanging sexually explicit letters with a teen resident at its facility.

Ramsey County detention center love letters

The backstory:

An investigative investigation conducted on July 9, 2024, reviewed security footage at the facility of people up to 18 years old waiting for an initial hearing, trial or placement, and sought interviews with a supervisor, fellow staff members and the victim.

At the time of the report, the victim was 17 years old and residing at the facility awaiting certification by an adult court.

Investigation findings

Dig deeper:

An investigation by DHS determined that on June 21, 2024, a staff member witnessed the victim slide a note under the door of their room, which they picked up and brought to their supervisor.

The same staff member reportedly noticed the victim spending a lot of time having lengthy conversations with the alleged staff member, taking their lunch breaks together, and specifically calling for them to bring their food during such stretches – sometimes referring to them as their "boo" or "bae" – before clarifying they were "just playing."

On June 28, the victim’s room was searched, and 13 double-sided pages of notes between the two were found.

There was also suspicion of sexual activity between the two, but the investigation could not determine that sexual abuse occurred using surveillance footage.

Upon being interviewed, the victim told authorities that they thought the staff member was "cool" because they played games with the residents and "did not try to power us."

Staff at the facility are reportedly not allowed to give or accept special favors to or from residents as part of their position.

What's next:

Based on the content of the letters found, the investigation determined that the staff member was "grooming" the victim, and had acted inappropriately in their position, in turn violating the facility policy and Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards.

According to the memo provided by DHS, the employee has since been terminated from their position.

When told their employment would be terminated due to the investigation, the staff member denied any wrongdoing.