State Report on Alleged Rape Assailed

State officials have concluded their investigation of an alleged sexual assault at the troubled Ventura School, but their recommendations came under fire Thursday as “too skimpy and too simplistic” by a legislator charged with overseeing the juvenile correctional facility.

State Sen. Ruben Ayala (D-Chino) said he plans today to ask Lloyd Woods, inspector general of the state Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, to rewrite the recommendations so they are more specific and instructional.

“I don’t think we’re asking too much for him to do that,” said Ayala, chairman of the Select Senate Committee on Prison Management. “It’s very simple. He needs to address what caused the problems--was it lack of security, lack of training or whatever--and then recommend measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The report stems from an incident in June 1996 in which a male inmate allegedly raped a 17-year-old female inmate at the correctional institution for offenders 13 to 25, most of whom have committed violent crimes. An investigation followed, but the district attorney’s office found insufficient evidence to prosecute.

Ayala’s committee began its own probe and asked the agency’s inspector general to perform an audit of the rape investigation conducted by the California Youth Authority, which runs the state’s only coed juvenile correctional facility.

In addition to the various investigations, the alleged rape also prompted Ayala to hold a special legislative hearing in Sacramento earlier this month at which he accused CYA officials of lax supervision that allowed other incidents--including rapes, sex between a ward and an officer, and even a ward’s death--to occur at Ventura School.

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A follow-up hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 24. It will be held in Camarillo at the request of Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), who attended the Oct. 7 hearing.

Wright said many volunteers who work at the facility have come forward with additional information about sex regularly occurring between officers and female inmates.

“I’m told they get merit points [for having sex with officers] and those who don’t cooperate get punished,” Wright said. “Hopefully, we’ll get some concrete evidence on this.”

The inspector general’s report on the rape investigation lists seven recommendations, none specifically addressing conditions at Ventura School.

Among the recommendations: The CYA should “ensure that a quality review process is in place” and continue efforts to secure more full-time internal affairs investigators with appropriate training and background, and evaluate the present internal affairs structure.

“The recommendations are exactly what the inspector should be recommending,” said acting correctional agency Secretary Thomas Maddock. “We’re trying not to micro-manage . . . the report is to set standards and explain that they are required. Then it’s up to the department to put the mechanism together to implement the standards.”

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The CYA must submit a plan of correction to Maddock, who oversees the inspector general’s office, within 30 days from Thursday. “They will have to come back with specific changes to ensure the quality of investigations is raised to a level it belongs at,” Maddock said.

The inspector general’s investigation found that “with the exception of processing and preservation of medical evidence,” the CYA investigation into the alleged rape at the state’s only coed correctional facility was complete.

The protocol for a sexual assault was not followed, Maddock said, and the evidence from the examination was sent to a medical laboratory where only sperm could be analyzed, rather than to a forensic laboratory where a more detailed study could be performed.

CYA Director Frank Alarcon said the department has corrected the problem with a new policy that requires all chief medical officers to follow the sexual-assault protocol.

“Frankly, it was ignorance on our part as to these new protocols that are now available,” Alarcon said. “Heaven forbid there are any more situations like this--but if there are, we will immediately have the exam done outside the institution and follow what is now considered the appropriate protocol.”

Alarcon said he also completed an extensive training session for all CYA investigators this week.

“The report pointed out that we need to make sure that all investigations contain certain ingredients to assure their quality,” Alarcon said. “As part of our response, we will describe what we will do to make sure our investigations are complete.”

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The inspector general’s report also examined the CYA’s investigation of the hospital aide who was fired one year after she reported the alleged rape, finding it “incomplete and limited in scope.”

Carlee Barnes, who worked for the CYA for 22 years, claimed in written testimony at a special legislative hearing last month that she was abruptly fired June 30 in retaliation for reporting the incident. Her appeal to the state personnel board is pending.

Although Barnes was held responsible for inadequately supervising the inmates involved, nothing in her job duties required her to do anything differently, the inspector general concluded.

Alarcon stands by the decision to fire her. “There were weaknesses in the administrative investigation, but it doesn’t mean that this employee will not be held responsible, at least in part, for what took place,” he said.