Alabama
Alabama sheriff requests FBI probe into alleged sex assault at youth detention facility
Alabama sheriff officials have asked the FBI to investigate possible civil rights violations after two youth detention employees were charged with sexually assaulting minors at a facility, authorities said Monday.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department was notified of “potential criminal behavior” at the county’s youth detention facility on Wednesday, according to Assistant Chief Deputy Wesley Richerson. The sheriff’s department immediately opened an investigation and discovered that two detention officers had allegedly sexually assaulted two different boys on separate occasions, Richerson said.
That same day, sheriff’s deputies arrested Kentavious Miller, 32, and charged him with first-degree sexual abuse, according to Richerson. Deputies then arrested another detention officer, Labradford Jamell Armistad, 35, on Friday and charged him with seven counts of first-degree sodomy.
“This is an extremely disturbing situation, and to be frank, I’m absolutely appalled at what the evidence has revealed in this case,” Richerson said during a news conference Monday.
Richerson noted that the investigation is still ongoing. While the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department remains the lead on the probe, Richerson said the sheriff’s department requested the FBI to open a criminal investigation into possible civil rights violations.
Both the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and state prosecutors were also contacted about the investigation “because these allegations involve victims that are in custody,” Richerson said.
“Simply put, we will not tolerate those who abuse their abuse their positions to harm others, and we will ensure that all suspects are held accountable in this case,” Richerson added.
Youth detention officers accused of sexual assault
During the investigation, the sheriff’s department learned that around Dec. 15 a “male juvenile detainee was sexually abused by a detention officer inside the facility,” according to Richerson. Investigators then obtained statements and evidence that led to the arrest of Miller.
Charging documents obtained by news outlet AL.com and television station WSFA alleged that Miller had entered a cell assigned to a 14-year-old boy, approached him while he was lying on a bed, and sexually assaulted him.
Investigators also found evidence that another minor was “sexually assaulted while he was previously incarcerated inside the facility,” Richerson said. He alleged that Armistad sexually assaulted a “male juvenile detainee while he was in his custody.”
Both Miller and Armistad are no longer employed at the youth detention facility, according to Richerson. Before their arrests, Miller had worked at the facility for about five months while Armistad had been employed at the facility for about five years.
Miller was taken to the Montgomery County Detention Facility after his arrest on Wednesday and was initially held on a $7,500 bond, according to WSFA and AL.com. He was later released on bond.
Armistad remains in custody without bond, Richerson said.
Youth detention facilities across the U.S. under scrutiny
The charges in Alabama are the latest in a wave of cases and lawsuits involving youth detention facilities across the country. Allegations of abuse and neglect have sprung up in several states in recent years, including Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois.
In a report released last year, the U.S. Department of Justice examined substantiated incidents from 2013 through 2018 and found that most juvenile detention staff who sexually victimized children faced no legal repercussions for their actions.
An eight-month investigation by USA TODAY’s Network of Ohio newspapers last year exposed years of oppressive lockdowns, deadly violence, and chronic understaffing in the state’s youth prison system. Earlier this year, two teenagers filed a class-action lawsuit against a Kentucky youth detention center and its administrators, claiming that they were subjected to oppressive isolation, denied basic hygiene, showers, and medications, and forced to listen to a toddler song.
Back in May, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of 95 people who claimed that staff at youth detention centers throughout Illinois sexually abused them from 1996 to 2017 when they were between the ages of 12 and 17. Months later, the Department of Justice concluded that five Texas juvenile detention centers violated children’s constitutional and civil rights.
The department said the detention centers — which housed children between the ages of 10 and 17 — exposed children to excessive force, failed to protect them from sexual abuse, and deprived them of basic needs. The centers also discriminated against children with disabilities by denying them “reasonable modifications to complete programs required for their release,” as well as equal opportunity to education, according to the department.
Contributing: Tami Abdollah and Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY; Alex Gladden, Montgomery Advertiser; Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American-Statesman
Alabama and Michigan played in a bowl game on the first day of 2024 and will play in another on the final day of 2024, there’s just not as much as statke this time. The Crimson Tide and Wolverines are becoming familiar postseason foes, meeting in a bowl game for the third time in the last six seasons with this year’s matchup in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida.
Both teams will be without several players because of injuries and the transfer portal, but it will be another game between two of the most storied programs in college football history. Alabama and Michigan both had disappointing seasons relative to their standards but are coming off wins over bitter rivals in the final game of the regular season.
Here’s what you need to know about the seaon finale in Year 1 for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama:
Who: Alabama (9-3, 5-3 SEC) vs. Michigan (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten)
What: ReliaQuest Bowl
When: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m. CT
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
TV: ESPN
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).
Sirius XM: Away 191, Home 372
Series: Tied, 3-3
Last meeting: The two teams met last postseason in the Rose Bowl as the semifinal for the College Football Playoff. Michigan won 27-20 in overtime and went on to win the national championship. Alabama led for almost the whole fourth quarter, but let Michigan go on a 75-yard drive in the final few minutes of regulation to tie the game up. The Wolverines got the ball first in overtime and were in the end zone two plays later. Jalen Milroe was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 3 to give Michigan the win.
Last time out, Alabama: Alabama handled business in the Iron Bowl against Auburn with a 28-14 victory despite turning the ball over four times. Milroe had 256 yards through the air and another 104 on the ground with three more rushing touchdowns.
Last time out, Michigan: The Wolverines had one of the biggest upsets of the college football season, knocking off bitter rival No. 2 Ohio State on the road. Michigan stifled the Buckeye offense on the way to the 13-10 win. Dominic Zvada hit the game-winning field goal with 45 seconds left for the Wolverines.
Alabama
Alabama can’t replace food stamps lost to theft, scams after congressional authorization expires
Congressional authorization that allowed Alabama to replace SNAP benefits lost to theft or fraud expired on Saturday, meaning the state can no longer process affidavits involving theft unless congress acts.
Under federal legislation, states have been allowed to use federal money to replace residents’ EBT funds lost to card skimming, card cloning and other fraud since Dec. 21, 2022, but the legislation set Dec. 20, 2024 as the end date of the provision.
“Therefore, the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) cannot process affidavits with thefts occurring on or after Saturday, December 21. Alabama DHR will continue to process affidavits of theft for incidents that occurred on or prior to December 20, 2024 from households impacted by EBT card skimming, cloning, and similar fraud,” the agency said Monday.
Scammers have stolen nearly $5 million in recent months from Alabama families who receive food stamps, according to DHR.
In November alone, DHR received nearly 14,000 requests from families seeking reimbursement for funds stolen by scammers.
Reports of theft prior to Dec. 21 have to be submitted to county DHR offices within 30 dates of a resident having discovered the fraud.
Locations and contact information for all 67 county DHR offices are available at dhr.alabama.gov/county-office-contact. The site also has more information on how to report fraud, ways to prevent benefit theft, and other tips.
All reports of skimming, cloning, or similar fraud will require confirmation verifying that all information reported in the request is true and correct, the agency noted.
EBT cardholders may be contacted about their claim, and those who purposefully give false information may be prosecuted, according to DHR.
Michigan will play in one week from today when the Wolverines travel down to Florida to take on Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The maize and blue will take on Bama for the second time in this calendar year and Michigan got the best of the Crimson Tide the first time the two teams played. The Wolverines got past Nick Sabana and Co. to win the Rose Bowl and move to the national title.
But both teams will look extremely different when the two square off in Tampa. Between bowl opt-outs, transfers, and losing so many seniors from the first time the two played — it’s hardly a glimpse of what we saw in January.
But before the game, here are some game notes thanks to M Go Blue.
• This will be the seventh meeting between Michigan and Alabama; series is tied at three wins apiece.
• U-M won the last matchup, a 27-20 victory in overtime in the 2024 CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl.
• Michigan is making its seventh appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
• Kalel Mullings is 52 yards shy of 1,000 this season: rushed 185 times for 948 yards and scored 12 TDs.
• Ernest Hausmann leads U-M with a career-best 82 tackles and 7 TFLs.
• Josaiah Stewart is pacing the defense in TFLs (13) and sacks (8.5).
• Dominic Zvada is the Big Ten’s most accurate kicker with a 94.4 percent conversion rate (17-18 on FGs).
• U-M has compiled a 23-29 record in bowl games, listing 11th in the NCAA in appearances and 17th in victories.
• This will be the 19th time that Michigan faces a Southeastern Conference school in a bowl game.
• The Wolverines have a 9-9 mark against the SEC in bowl games.
• The most recent bowl match-up with the SEC came in the 2023 CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl, a 27-20 overtime victory over Alabama on New Year’s Day.
• Michigan is no stranger to the Southeastern Conference and will face an SEC school for the 41st time in school history.
• The Wolverines have a 26-13-1 all-time record against schools from the SEC.
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