Advocates file complaint over Texas youth prison conditions

Two advocacy groups say detainees in Texas' juvenile prisons suffer from frequent physical and sexually abuse, inadequate mental healthcare and high rates of staff turnover.

Texas Appleseed and Disability Rights Texas asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Texas Juvenile Justice Department lockups in a complaint Wednesday.

The groups allege the hundreds of youth held in five secure state facilities continue to have their rights violated despite recent and long-standing efforts to reform the Texas youth corrections systems.

A Texas Juvenile Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.