Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Probation Officer Faces Charges For Alleged Assault On A Minor
L.A. County DA George Gascón announced the charges Monday.
(
Robert Garrova
/
LAist
)
L.A. County prosecutors are charging a probation department officer with felony assault of a minor, charges announced Monday by District Attorney George Gascón.
Officials said the incident took place in 2020 at Camp Kilpatrick in Malibu and videotape shows Oscar Cross, a supervising offer in the Probation Department, forcefully bending the minor’s leg back towards his head.
Gascón called it a brutal assault on a child who was supposed to be under the care of the probation department.
“I have to admit that I find the conditions of confinement for juveniles in L.A. County deeply concerning,” Gascón said. “No matter what those children have been accused of, they deserve to be safe within the institutions that house them.”
Support for LAist comes from
If convicted, Cross could face three years in jail.
A troubled department
The charges against the officer come as the Probation Department faces a number of challenges.
Just Friday, department officials said a gun was found at around 10 a.m. that morning at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey. The facility went on lockdown for several hours as law enforcement investigated the incident.
Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey
(
Robert Garrova / LAist
)
Department officials said the firearm was found in “an area only accessible to staff.”
Support for LAist comes from
“No youth had access to it, and nobody was injured,” according to a statement emailed to LAist.
The incident at Los Padrinos came just a couple months after the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) gave L.A. County 60 days to transfer nearly 300 incarcerated youths to a facility in Downey — saying facilities located in Sylmar and near Downtown L.A. were both unsuitable.
That move was completed ahead of schedule, according to county officials who celebrated beating that deadline. In a statement prior to Friday's incident, Guillermo Viera Rosa, the interim probation chief, said the county had gone “from Mission Impossible to mission accomplished.”
Where things stand
But juvenile justice reform advocates and family members of incarcerated kids remain unconvinced that the move will change conditions for the better.
In Sunday’s sweltering heat, Adreena Rochall held a sign that read “End the war on kids” outside Los Padrinos and chanted along with a couple of other protesters. Rochall’s teenage son was recently transferred to the Downey facility. She said she felt panicked on Friday when she learned about the gun at the facility.
Adreena Rochall (L) and Joel Orizaba (R) protested outside Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall on Sunday.
(
Robert Garrova / LAist
)
Support for LAist comes from
She said she learned about the incident from reading a report in the L.A. Times, and that no one from the probation department reached out to her.
Rochall said she and other parents waited three hours to see their children at Los Padrinos. She said others like her are not hopeful that the move to Los Padrinos would change things for the better.
“They are not checking anything properly. They’re putting these kids' lives at risk. And now they’re getting desperate, the kids, they all want to break out... That’s how bad they’re mistreating them,” Rochall said.
The Probation Department said in an email that there was no additional information on Friday’s incident at this time.
The Board of State and Community Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist