Seven more people have come forward to say they were sexually abused by staffers at a state-run detention center in southwestern Idaho.
The new allegations were detailed in a tort claim filed with the state late Tuesday afternoon. So far at least 10 former detainees at the Idaho Department of Juvenile Correction detention center in Nampa have brought sex abuse allegations against the state, identifying at least half a dozen suspected abusers.
In the new tort claim, six boys and one girl make similar allegations — that they were sexually abused multiple times by staffers, and that in some cases they were supplied with illicit drugs by a nurse at the detention center. Some of the juveniles in the tort claim say they were mentally ill and already on high doses of lithium and other medications, making them particularly vulnerable to abuse. They said detention center staffers and the center director knew about the abuse but didn't take steps to stop it.
The department's spokesman, Jeff Ray, said he couldn't comment about the matter because it is under litigation.