A state watchdog has flagged failures in Maryland’s youth detention system, including sexual activity among three boys being held at a Western Maryland facility and an attempt by agency leadership at the time to limit investigators’ access to video footage of the incident.

The report also criticized the agency for mismanaging an evacuation during a flood risk and rising assaults on staff.

The report is the first from the Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit since the departure of former Secretary Vincent Schiraldi and the first authored by Maryland Office of the Correctional Ombudsman Yvonne Briley-Wilson, who was appointed by Gov. Wes Moore last year.

According to the public report obtained by The Banner, one teen at Green Ridge Youth Center allegedly performed oral sex on two other boys on the bottom bunk of an open sleeping area. A sheet had been draped from the top bunk, creating a privacy screen.

One boy involved reported the incident to a case manager, kicking off a reporting chain that reached the agency’s inspector general and the monitoring unit.

At least one of the teens tested positive for HIV in June, according to the report, but it did not indicate the source or the timing of the teen’s exposure.

The watchdog heard about the incident in early May and later learned that one of the teens had previously told staff he felt unsafe and had asked to be moved. Another teen was not supposed to be sleeping in that dorm, though the report does not say why.

Video footage reviewed by the investigators, though dark, the report said, showed two kids getting into a bed behind the sheet with the third boy. The privacy partition violated DJS policy, according to the report, and video shows staff walking past without removing it.

But, before her team could investigate the incident, Briley-Wilson had to obtain the video footage. Here, she said, DJS officials did not cooperate with her requests in May, citing confidentiality statutes protecting the minors’ records.

Schiraldi resigned in June. Moore appointed agency veteran Betsy Fox Tolentino as acting secretary. Schiraldi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moore said he was briefed Thursday on the findings, calling them “unconscionable, unacceptable,” and he said “they must be addressed in the swiftest and most certain terms.”

“Accountability is paramount, both for Maryland’s justice-involved youth and for the systems that serve them,” the Democrat said.

Moore reiterated his confidence in Fox Tolentino, who he said is “deeply engaged in the full-scale work to correct the systemic failures.”

Fox Tolentino also reviewed the report and said they echoed what she had discovered upon taking on the role.

“I am deeply troubled by the unacceptable conditions that some of our young people are facing in our care,” she said. “And it is absolutely unacceptable that some of our staff do not feel safe at work.

“Everyone who is present in one of our facilities is deserving of safety, dignity, compassion, and respect — and to the extent that previous leadership allowed inhumane conditions and resisted interactions with those tasked with our oversight, I will not follow suit."

The report covers the first six months of this year. The ombudsman’s staff serves as an independent watchdog over state facilities for the Department of Juvenile Services and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

The ombudsman’s team has legal authority to inspect facilities unannounced and can speak with youth and adults under state care and workers staffing the facilities.

This report also documents reports of kids assaulting staff, including one involving a teacher and another female staffer being groped by a teen.

Physical altercations between youth and staff are not uncommon in watchdog reports. But incidents have peaked in recent years at Green Ridge. At one point, roughly half of staff members were out on injured leave because they were assaulted by youth.

Advocates and researchers argue that incarcerating kids can produce poor outcomes and has the potential to expose them to abuse.

Maryland, along with other states, has been hit with thousands of sexual abuse lawsuits from people who were incarcerated when they were children.

Briley-Wilson’s report also criticized DJS for its flawed communication with staff and parents after moving kids to a nearby facility when Green Ridge was under threat of flood in May and for keeping kids at an alternate location long after it was safe to return them.

Contraband drugs, vape pens and smart devices continue to seep into youth detention centers, the report said. Briley-Wilson also documented instances of spoiled and undercooked food.

Fox Tolentino said after reading the report she’s ordered “a comprehensive staffing review to increase front-line coverage in our residential programs” and has hired a new director of the Office of the Inspector General. That person will report directly to her, “in an effort to strengthen internal accountability and oversight,” she said.

“We are still digesting the full scope of the report’s findings,” she said, ”And in the coming days and weeks will provide a more detailed response.”