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BUHL, Minn. (AP) — In a story May 2 about reports of the maltreatment of boys held at the Mesabi Academy correctional facility in Buhl, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the Minnesota Department of Corrections houses and treats boys at the facility. The department licenses the facility, but it is run by a company, KidsPeace.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Investigators probe whether academy staff reported abuse
Investigators and former and current employees of Mesabi Academy are raising concerns about whether Minnesota's largest private correctional facility for boys is following the proper channels in reporting allegations of maltreatment
BUHL, Minn. (AP) — Investigators and former and current employees of Mesabi Academy are raising concerns about conditions at Minnesota's largest private correctional facility for boys and whether it's following the proper channels in reporting allegations of maltreatment.
Mesabi Academy in St. Louis County houses and treats up to 123 boys who are sent from juvenile courts, social service agencies and parents.
Last spring, Caroline Mattson informed her superiors that three boys had told her they had been sexually abused by an employee. Mesabi began an internal investigation, prompted either by that report or another.
But academy leaders did not tell St. Louis County authorities about the allegations, a decision that avoided outside scrutiny and may have evaded state law. Six months later, in October 2015, county officials learned of the alleged incidents and began their own investigation.
County officials recently closed its six-month investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and maltreatment, saying they had insufficient evidence to substantiate the accusations, according to APM Reports (http://bit.ly/1W36oFL), a unit of American Public Media. Investigators also determined that academy staff didn't report some of the allegations to law enforcement or child protection officials.
Current and former staffers at Mesabi Academy said in dozens of interviews that the facility routinely conducts internal investigations and discourages employees from reporting problems to outside law enforcement, according to APM Reports.
Todd Wilman, who worked at Mesabi Academy for 13 years, said there was a code of silence when it came to anything that would reflect badly on the company.
"They wanted to make sure you kept your mouth shut," Wilman said. "You didn't say nothing. And if it was reported outside the building, your so-called career could be ruined at that point, because you'd be fired. And it was also stated that they could make it tough enough where you couldn't find another job."
The academy's parent company, KidsPeace, says it followed all applicable laws.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections, which oversees Mesabi Academy, received 64 complaints about Mesabi between Jan. 1, 2009, and March 14, 2016, records showed. The complaints include allegations of staffers assaulting clients, children having sex and boys exposing themselves to other children and staff. The information does not make clear how every individual complaint was resolved. The number of complaints at Mesabi Academy is substantially more than at any other juvenile facility licensed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
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