Blowing The Whistle
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Taxpayers in Fort Bend County are being kept in the dark about the cost of a sex scandal at the county juvenile detention center. It’s been almost two years and the politicians don’t want you to know how bad it could be.
“Debra Helen Sutter is 64 years old, mother of two adult children, now in the Fort Bend County jail,” said the ABC13 news anchor.
It’s been twenty months since 64-year-old Debra Sutter’s mugshot flashed on the local news. The volunteer was charged with molesting a teenage boy in custody at the juvenile detention center. The Sheriff said he was looking for more victims.
“If there’s anyone out there that has, knows anything about Ms. Sutter involved in any other activities we ask you to call the sheriff’s office,” said Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls.
The horror for that young boy was repeatedly documented on security cameras as it happened.
“He has been diagnosed with severe depression. He’s also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder,” said attorney Taft Foley.
Sheriff Nehls is one of those accused of refusing to help the young boy get treatment once he cried out for help. Nehls is running for Congress.
“And now it looks like Fort Bend County taxpayers , you folks at home, could be among the victims of this still emerging scandal.”
And the silence from the politicians is deafening. That’s why it was time for us to tell you what they won’t. Sex scandals are nothing new at the place they hold kids in trouble in Fort Bend. An audit documented “at least ten cases of sexual abuse/harassment” in twelve months.
We pay for so many cameras, so much security to prevent all that. Yet a lawsuit claims Debra Sutter started sexually abusing the boy when he was just fifteen. “Three or four times a day, twice weekly, for over a year,” the lawsuit reads.
“I really think you need to talk to the county attorney about it, OK?” said Vincent Morales, Fort Bend County Commissioner for Precinct 1.
It gets worse. When the young boy asked to see an outside doctor, detention officials supposedly told him, “you are getting released soon, you can see a doctor when you get out.”
Really?
“I don’t know I can comment on that because it is still under our county attorney’s, yeah so honestly I defer that question to county attorney,” said Fort Bend County Judge KP George.
“Sir we have a lawsuit that’s pending and we are not going to expand beyond what I just said sir,” said Fort Bend County Attorney Roy Cordes.
We all know how chatty county lawyers are.
“Do the videos still exist?” said Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting.
“We’ll follow the procedures to determine if they do,” Cordes said.
“So you don’t even know if they exist?” Dolcefino said.
“I don’t, no sir,” Cordes said.
“Have you asked?” Dolcefino said.
“Probably an attorney in my office probably has,” Cordes said.
Activist Quanell X was watching our interview and gave Cordes an earful.
“If it was a white child you wouldn’t take that position. You know you wouldn’t. It’s a black child so you really don’t give a damn because it’s a black kid. That’s the problem here. If this was a white kid with a black perpetrator you’d have a whole lot to say. It’s a black kid and you all don’t give a damn if a little black kid gets molested in Fort bend County. Bottom line. Don’t lie about it,” said Quanell X.
“If you knew me you wouldn’t say that sir,” Cordes said.
“I’m listening to you right now and based on what I’ve heard that’s exactly—” Quanell X said.
“Did I mention race? Did I mention race?” Cordes said.
“You don’t have to because you never do. Y’all never do. But that’s exactly what it’s about. And I know for a fact that this is how you buck dance and dilly dally around the questions. You’re not to see about the victim in this case,” Quanell X said.
“How is it that someone gets molested 3 or 4 times a week for three years and nobody here wants to discuss with the public what they’re doing to fix it?” Dolcefino said.
Taxpayers haven’t been told about this lawsuit either. Fort bend County is suing their own insurance company over this same scandal.
“We have a disagreement on the terms of the policy,” Cordes said.
Fort Bend County taxpayers haven’t been told they could be on the hook.
“The bottom line is the folks in Fort Bend County are the ones who are going to pay the tab on this deal. Don’t you think they have a right to know what steps you guys took once you knew this guy was being molested all the time. Why isn’t that a fair question?” Dolcefino said.
“Sir that will come out as part of the trial,” Cordes said.
“But why should people have to wait for that?” Dolcefino said.
“In federal court. Because the lawsuit needs to be tried in court sir,” Cordes said.
But it’s about to get a lot messier in public. Once of the defendants is blowing the whistle.
“I was a youth specialist there,” said Landon Sams.
Landon Sams worked with a group of eight kids in the juvenile detention center. The teenager at the heart of the Sutter scandal was one of them.
“He was doing what he had to do to get out. He was doing the right things for him to get out of the program,” Sams said.
Instead, the young boy became a victim of Debra Sutter. And now for the first time, testimony that it was no secret.
“So you heard Debra Sutter tell at least one supervisor I’m here for my conjugal visit?” Dolcefino said.
“Yes, sir,” Sams said.
“You at the time did not know what a conjugal visit was,” Dolcefino said.
“I, I didn’t. I thought it was just a regular old—it’s a mentor, that’s a regular visit,” Sams said.
And that’s not all. In a sworn affidavit obtained by Dolcefino Consulting Sams recounts Sutter laughing about her visits with a supervisor.
“I’m here to see my boyfriend,” she supposedly said. “He’s going to run away with me to Canada when he gets out of here.”
Why is Sams going public now? He says he doesn’t want Fort Bend County politicians to get away with blaming this on low-level employees.
“He deserves justice but you’re trying to push this off on employees like this is your problem,” Sams said.
“Kids matter. Kids matter. Nobody feels good about this situation,” said Grady Prestage, Fort Bend County Commissioner for Precinct 2.
And that’s why it’s time for the politicians to come clean, before it happens again.
“We put the taxpayers’ money at, at risk when you talk about things out of turn,” Prestage said.
“So the public doesn’t need to know because you’re really protecting them?” Dolcefino said.
“I don’t know how to answer that question,” Prestage said.
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