I started as an officer in 2024 April, the training was easy, I passed the exams on the first attempt and I knew that I could help rehabilitate a few kids who went down the wrong path. In June, I started working at the UEC DJJ in Union SC. Although Im originally from DC and a former GS-11, I felt that I could easily work in SC Govt. Everything was good at first, I presented a plan to the Capt showing a great program for the boys to learn apothecary. Shortly thereafter, some of the boys did some inappropriate things around me, masturbating while Im doing my unit checks. I brought this up with my Sgt, and he said he’d pass it to my LT. Well, the LT came to my pod and said, “Boys will be Boys,” and I told her that I would quit. That’s when she explained to them that she didn’t know exactly what was happening since it wasn’t told to her. She then filed a complaint against the boys, and the narrative that i added to the complaint was formatted in a way, by the LT to bring sexual assault charges against the boys. This started a spiral of unhealthy days for me. No one talked to me anymore, nothing but odd stares. Bad enough my Lt was a white woman and a lesbian, but to bring sexual assault charges against to black boys was even worse. I found out that the jail loved these boys and had a bond with these boys, so now im the problem. Time went on, and I soon realized that everyone didn’t care about the well-being of the boys. its so many stories about DJJ, and its sad. I recommend you and your son get some family counseling when they began to go astray or if the family is having any type of difficulties. DJJ will ruin your son for the most part. And its the boys and the staff. Staff will allow, promote, encourage and participate in the ignorance. They smuggle in whatever the boys want, they play into mind games with them, and its sad, cause this is someone’s child that needs help, the recidivism starts at DJJ. UEC is not a place to be opinionated, to be different, to stick out, or to have a personality or charisma about yourself. My Capt was beyond rude and demeaning towards the kids. what type of place is this? The bathrooms are filthy, toilets don’t work, sinks don’t have proper plumbing, so there’s buckets everywhere, boys with mental health issues or housed anywhere. I don’t have a mental health background, I was making soaps prior to this, but put the special needs kid around agressive youth that are easily frustrated and triggered so the boy is constantly attacked. And no one will help or care, cause the boy is already labeled special needs. his every concern, whimper, attempt will be passed or brushed off as special needs. so no one cares. so your son will be abused and ignored the entire time, or he defecates on him self and inside the shower, only to make the aggressive boys beat him up, and staff thinks he deserves it. Get your son out of this place, and when you do, seek therapy! There are people with ulterior motives, some love drama, love to watch kids fight, love to watch black kids fight, love to see the downfall of what they perceive are bad kids, some or pedophiles or perverts, and this is a playground. Some staff were under investigation for sexual misconduct and excessive use of force but they come to work every day. just cant be around the boy you misconducted yourself with! I know as a parent, if I saw how my son was living in DJJ it would crush my soul. Your child will starve, his food will be taken the moment he gets it. Youth who were addicted to pain or any prescription meds, will force other kids to put in fake medical claims in an attempt to get the drugs, only to pass it on. These kids never swallow the pill, they put it under their tongue just to spit it out into the hands of another boy so he can mentally trip all night. and no one cares! they never cared, its not a secret, its on camera. and of course, there is a control room under no control. its a hangout spot, people in there are half dead, sleeping or chatting away, meanwhile your staff and youth are going thru hell in the pod. Who is running this place I asked myself time and time again. Its no way this is happening. Here I am at home with a twisted hip and shoulder, I cant be seen for my neck cause Workers Comp says its not a concern. So in November 24th to be exact, at 10pm, the boys in my pod decided tonight would be the night to beat on the lgbtq boy who weighed no more than 70 pounds wet. Mind you this is my 3rd night in this pod, and every night I’ve irritated these boys. Im usually outside in another unit with boys in lockdown/the hole/restriction/ whatever, but now Im upstairs. They didnt want me at the facility, and the attempts to hurt me never came to fruition till this night. These boys are in there beating the lgbtq every night, and the boy is pleading to go to another pod, to no avail. My White Lesbian LT is not allowing the Black Gay Boy to go to another pod, you know the “shrimp” pod. That’s what they call the kids that can’t fend for themselves, “shrimp”. These boys were also having a child porn ring of exploitation. I don’t know any other way to put it. These boys have a deck of photos of young black and white girls on display that they are passing around to other youth in exchange for phone time, food, whatever! And what these boys are doing with these photos does not need to be told. Just know that these little girls have no idea and neither do the parents! but UEC knows. Youth aren’t even allowed to have photos, but some of these youth are “special”. Someone made them special, someone with authority of some sort, whether its a office, lt, sgt, cpt or administrator. Im the officer they love to hate! so on night two I let my LT know those photos, she didn’t take action until she came in the pod and saw a few photos on the floor lying next to a boys bunk. She gathered them and when she did, the alpha-youth… yelled at her and said he needed those photos back. Wow! I couldn’t believe that these boys in here doing time is running the place, and my lesbian white LT is over here smirking as if she loves to play this game. Now im really the enemy, cause now she has to turn the photos in and write a report. Night three I was assaulted by that boy and 6 others. They kicked and punched me while i lay over top of the LGBTQ boy. Mind you, my SGT was in control room, the jail is understaffed, so I was the only one in the pod, the boy asked all night to be transferred to another pod for his safety, and nothing. So, Yes I laid on that boy to stop him from getting beat up, I did not think that these boys would assault me. These boys have DV in them, maybe they saw it at home or on the violent DVD’s that the staff bring in for them to watch. You know they need education while in there, so why not give them Menace to Society to watch! Just total ignorance. DJJ hires anybody! I mean anybody. No one came to the pod to stop the assault, and I had to stay in the pod till 7 am the next morning – end of my shift to go to the emergency room. That was November, I didnt get Work Comp and see a Doctor till January. My job had me as leave without pay – then suspended without pay, then terminated. So they have all this video footage for quite some time of all the happenings in my Pod while my SGT and two other staff from Allied Security was in the control room, but no one in the control room saw anything wrong in my POD. When my SGT finally came to my pod, the boy I was protecting had his head was bust open by the boy I mentioned earlier who had the photos on the floor around his bunk. Poor lil boy didn’t go to the hospital or see a nurse… well the nurses go home about 7:30 or so, so the Hospital was his only option. Instead, they moved him out the next day to another facility without notify DSS of the assault on him. Im a mandated reporter, so of course I went to DSS about the boy, he was in fact a foster child. How do I know this? Well, the boy who kicked him in his forehead causing it to bust open, taunted him that night about being a foster child. How did he know? Well, staff loves these kids – to the point of running their mouth to these kids. They tell lies to the kids too. When I first started working there, I was “sucking D in the kitchen”… just ignorant. Im posting my full story here, I use AI to post on GoFundMe, but I want my words to be clear for you. Cause now, i have a termination on my records, and at 44, thats a terrible thing, I have to get working again. Its been six months with no income, and doctors appointments. I just had the Doctor order a MRA for my shoulder only to say he didnt agree with the findings. That MRA hurt bad. My cornea was cut, and I cant get Lasik again, so Im back wearing eye-glasses, my hip is constantly popping out of socket, there is a constant clicking in my neck, and Im told that my neck isnt a priority. I need private counsel and a private doctor. I had an attorney, but he was always siding with the jail when I explained something to him, so he isnt with me anymore. I need to see someone for my neck and be able to stay afloat while I seek employment. Aside from this, I still make soap, I’ve been in apothecary since childhood, and after working with US Dept of HHS, I decided to go Holistic and provide supplements and cosmetics to the public. I still do that now, but after the pandemic, the economy changed, and I sought employment. DJJ hired me, and I hoped that even if my business didn’t continue to flourish, I could share the craft with the youth and give back. This incident set me back, I missed the birth of my 7th grandchild, the grand twins’ birthday, I’ve gained weight due to me being immobile the time i was waiting to get Workers Comp. Im struggling to pay my rent, my car was repossessed, unemployment was denied, and yet, I have to chuckle cause I know it’s not just me going through a crisis. I have my happiness.
