House committee calls for investigation into abuse involving state agencies

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — The House Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections met Monday to discuss criminal offense and abuse involving state agencies.

"I've been working for approximately three years on cases that are so horrific that you really just can't believe they're going on," State Rep. Justin Humphrey (R-Lane) said.

In recent months, the Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Center has been making headlinesas abuse allegations from juveniles within the center came to light. A 70-page lawsuit details the alleged abuse of 30 victims.

Experts and advocates at the meeting said state agencies are not protecting children in detention centers, and more broadly, across Oklahoma.

"We really have to believe the children when they cry out for help, because it takes a lot of courage for a child to stick their hand up and say hey I've been perpetrated on," Founder of Oklahomans for Children's Rights Mandy Reed said.

At the end of the meeting Humphrey, chairman of the committee, announced the committee is signing an order for an investigation.

"It'll be interesting. Do we see the legal challenge on this? It'll be interesting to see whether the investigation actually gets done. It'll be interested to see once the investigation starts, do we declare that the things we're seeing are those actual human rights violations and are those civil rights violations," he told FOX 25 News.

Humphrey said legislation regarding abuse and state agencies is in the works for next legislative session.

"A lot of people want to talk about switching around," he said. "I think our system is fine. What we need are people to run the system who will be held accountable."

"I'm really excited to see them use that statute and step up," Reed said. "Propelling forward into next legislative session we have a lot of bills working. I consult with a lot of legislators for different bills, various bills, and so you're gonna see a lot of new bills, and I'm excited for those."

Humphrey said the signed order should be sent over next week.