5 INDICTED IN DEATH AT ARIZONA YOUTH RANCH

Courts: Former employees are accused of manslaughter and child
abuse in the case of a California offender whose complaints of illness
were reportedly dismissed.

An Arizona grand jury Thursday indicted five former employees of
Arizona Boys Ranch, charging that the four camp workers and a staff
nurse were responsible for the March 2 death of a Sacramento boy at
the paramilitary-style boot camp for juvenile offenders.

The indictments by the panel in Pinal County, southeast of Phoenix,
were the first criminal charges in the 7-month-old case, which has
brought about legislative changes, stricter licensing standards and
tougher oversight guidelines. The fallout from the death has also all
but closed the 50-year-old juvenile rehabilitation facility, which has
a national reputation.

The people charged were among those who worked most closely with
16-year-old Nicholaus Contreraz, who died while being physically
punished. The boy was cleared for rigorous exercise, despite repeated
complaints to the nurse that he was ill.

Indicted were camp nurse Linda Babb and four "work
specialists"--Geoffrey Sean Lewis, Montgomery Clayton Hoover, Michael
Martin Moreno and Troy Michael Jones. Four of the defendants live in
Tucson, and Hoover is from Sierra Vista, about 60 miles southeast of
that city. Each was charged with one count of child abuse and one
count of manslaughter, and faces a maximum penalty of 12 1/2 years in
prison for each count. Arraignment was scheduled for Oct. 23.

Officials at the program--based in Queen Creek, about 30 miles
southeast of Phoenix--had no comment Thursday.

In the past they have characterized Contreraz's death at their Oracle
facility, north of Tucson, as a tragedy and blamed it on the actions
of a few employees who were then suspended.

Children's rights advocates and others were outraged by the death--the
second at the ranch, which has had more than 100 child abuse
complaints lodged against it in the last five years. Thursday's
decision did not completely appease the Contreraz family, which has
sued the Arizona agency that licensed the ranch.

Contreraz's grandmother, Connie Woodward of Sacramento, told the
Associated Press that the administrators who tolerated abuse should
also be held accountable.

"It's a great feeling, but it's not enough yet," she said of the
indictments. "At least we know they're not gonna just slap their hands
and walk away." Cathy Sutton, whose daughter died while attending a
Utah wilderness camp and monitors such boot camp deaths nationwide,
echoed that sentiment.

"They fire the staff and think they've taken care of the problem," she
said. "But administrators never seem to be held accountable."
Contreraz had been sent to the camp after stealing a car and running
away while in custody. The slender teenager spent the last week of his
life complaining of chest pain and difficulty breathing, but had been
identified by the staff as a malingerer and punished more when he
complained, authorities said.

When the boy sought medical attention, the camp nurse repeatedly sent
him back out with approval to engage in the stringent exercise
required of troublesome juveniles, according to a sheriff's report.

His condition worsened and he began to defecate on himself and vomit
frequently, the report said.

Among the indicted staff were those who the report described as having
belittled the youth, made him sleep in soiled underwear, made him eat
dinner while sitting on a toilet and ordered him to carry a trash
basket filled with his soiled clothes and his own vomit.

Contreraz eventually collapsed and died. The medical examiner
pinpointed the cause of death as empyema, a buildup of fluid in the
lining between the lungs and chest cavity. Contreraz was also
suffering from strep and staph infections, pneumonia and chronic
bronchitis. The coroner noted 71 cuts and bruises on the boy's body.

Contreraz's gruesome punishment and death sparked a debate in both
Arizona and California.

California had a policy of sending juvenile offenders to out-of-state
facilities that did not meet its own state licensing requirements.
Lawmakers in Sacramento have since passed legislation discouraging
out-of-state placements and begun bringing home about 1,000 juveniles
from facilities around the country.

The loss of California youths was a severe blow to Boys Ranch, which
relied on the state for three-fourths of its enrollment.

Since Contreraz's death, the seven-campus ranch has closed five sites
and laid off dozens of employees.

The Arizona Department of Economic Security in August denied the ranch
an operating license, citing a "pattern of abuse" in the Contreraz
case and attacking the program's core philosophy of physical restraint
and hands-on confrontation. The state agency also announced that 17
former staff members were being placed on the Arizona Child Abuser
Directory based on their treatment of Contreraz and others.

The ranch has appealed the ruling and this month replaced Bob Thomas,
the program's longtime president.

The FBI is continuing its own investigation of the
death.

Copyright 1998 Los Angeles Times.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady