Lawmakers raised questions about what occurred at a facility for child sex trafficking victims in Bastrop, Texas, after the Texas Rangers cleared the center from allegations.
KVUE reported Thursday:
The Texas Senate Special Committee on Child Protective Services held its first meeting after there were allegations of abuse at The Refuge shelter in Bastrop County. The bipartisan group of state senators at the Texas Capitol asked questions of the Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) after information indicated in federal court revealed several girls were trafficked by nine employees at that shelter.
In a press release issued March 10, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) ordered an investigation by the Texas Rangers over reports of child sex trafficking at the facility.
“The Governor also directed the Texas Rangers to arrest and pursue all appropriate criminal charges against anyone who perpetrated this abuse,” the release said.
Although officials are still investigating and one person has been arrested, the Texas Rangers announced Wednesday they found no evidence any of the children were sexually abused or trafficked during their stay at the facility.
In a social media post, Abbott said another individual may face charges for lying to a federal judge:
Meanwhile, the senate committee questioned the leader of DFPS regarding the issue, but the agency’s administrators claimed a problem with middle management resulted in inaccurate reports of sex trafficking.
According to the leader of the Department of Public Safety, reports could have been misunderstood due to notes regarding missing information from a court document:
A former worker at the shelter is being investigated for allegedly possessing nude photos of girls there, but the individual has not been taken into custody.
In a statement released Wednesday, Brooke Crowder, founder and CEO of the Refuge, said, “We are deeply relieved by the Texas Rangers’ findings reported in today’s letter from the Department of Public Safety to Governor Abbott.”
“We are committed to continued close cooperation with DPS, the Texas Department of Family Protective Services and the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office as they pursue justice for the girls involved in the cited incidents,” Crowder added.