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VERNAL — Two Uintah County sheriff's deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave as investigators try to determine how a 16-year-old girl was forgotten in a courthouse holding cell after the court had closed for the day.
The veteran deputies were both working as bailiffs at the 8th District courthouse in Vernal on Aug. 1 when the teen appeared before a juvenile court judge.
At some point during the hearing, the judge decided to have the girl taken into custody. She was put in handcuffs, which were attached to a chain around her waist, and put in a holding cell to await transportation to the Split Mountain Youth Detention Center.
That move never happened, and the courthouse closed.
"The cleaning crew heard her screaming," Uintah County Undersheriff John Laursen said. "We dispatched an officer immediately to the area and, in fact, found a person who was in a holding cell."
The girl had slipped out of her handcuffs by the time she was found, Laursen said. The holding cell she was in did have a toilet and a sink with running water, he said.
As for how long the teen was in the cell, that's part of the investigation.
"The investigating officer knows that information, but I haven't gotten it back from him yet," Laursen said late Thursday.
"I understand that some people think it's been nine hours, some people think it's been four or five hours," he said. "My understanding originally was it was a five-hour timeframe."
As part of the internal affairs investigation, Laursen said court security policies, procedures and practices are being re-evaluated. The incident could also bring separate investigations by the Division of Juvenile Justice Services and the Division of Child and Family Services, the undersheriff said.
Liz Sollis, spokeswoman for both agencies, said such investigations are not uncommon.
"We would be looking at (allegations of) abuse or neglect," Sollis said, noting that both JJS and DCFS often cooperate with law enforcement agencies and "wouldn't want to do anything to interfere with their investigations."
