Community Corner
Former Volunteers of America Employees Charged With Beating Troubled Teens
Prosecutors say the workers assaulted several boys between the ages of 14 and 19.

Eight former employees at the Volunteers of America, a non-profit company contracted to work with troubled teens in the care of the Department of Youth Services, were indicted Wednesday on charges they assaulted teens as a way of disciplining unsatisfactory behavior.
Seven of the workers appeared in court Wednesday for an arraignment at Suffolk Superior Court. They were released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty to charges they assaulted several teens.
Numerous boys, ages 14 and 19, were abused regularly, prosecutors say.
The workers struck the teens on the bare buttocks with an orange slipper provided by the Department of Youth Services, prosecutors allege.
The alleged abuse took place at a facility in Boston. Volunteers of America also have a location in Jamaica Plain. The Boston location has since been closed.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Youth Services says the agency is “deeply troubled” by the allegations.
The Volunteers of America responded with a statement saying, the situation is “hard for us to imagine.”
Thousands of hours of surveillance footage will be turned over to investigators presiding over the case.
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