Sarah Scully, Anchor/Reporter
Two Madison County Sheriff’s Office detention officers allegedly assaulted a 16 or 17-year-old juvenile while in custody on May 22, 2024, with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson reporting the investigation is still ongoing and continuing.
NC SBI Public Information Director Chad Flowers said in an email statement Sept. 3 that, “This case has taken a considerable amount of time due to this being a juvenile case. We hope to share our findings with the district attorney soon.”
This case of a juvenile inmate’s alleged abuse by corrections officers happened seven months before another 20 children reported abuse of tasing, pepper spraying and solitary confinement by detention officers to the Disability Rights of North Carolina’s surprise investigation into the Madison County Juvenile Detention Center in December 2024.
Flowers said the May 2024 report is of a child born in 2007, and both Madison District Attorney Seth Banks and the sheriff’s office contacted the SBI, with agents immediately responding to investigate the case.
The Department of Public Safety Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shut down the JDC in January 2025 after the Department of Social Services confirmed the findings.
Flowers said in a Sept. 4 phone call that one victim can open a case, but there may be multiple victims found through further investigation, “I don’t know how many victims there may be, but the SBI only has one case.”
I asked in separate emails Sept. 3 to DPS and the NC Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees DSS, why there wasn’t a full investigation of the JDC when the May 2024 alleged juvenile inmate assault was reported.
DPS Communications Officer Matt Debnam said in a Sept. 4 email that the DPS will not comment on another agency’s pending investigation and “Per DJJDP policy and by North Carolina General Statute (G.S. 7B-301) DJJDP staff have a duty to report allegations of abuse or neglect and must fully cooperate with DSS and law enforcement investigations.”
The law says “any person or institution who has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused… shall report the case of that juvenile to the director of the department of social services in the county where the juvenile resides or is found.”
Failure to report suspected abuse to the local DSS agency is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Madison County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Van Duncan, speaking on behalf of Sheriff “Buddy” Harwood, who oversaw the JDC, said in an Aug. 24 email about the DRNC’s report, “No officers were fired or demoted over that issue. There were no charges filed against any officers. The Sheriff does not have a comment.”
NCDHHS and Van Duncan did not respond for comment about the additional juvenile inmate abuse pending case by press time.
DRNC report: https://disabilityrightsnc.org/news/no-place-for-kids-the-closure-of-the-madison-county-juvenile-detention-center/
Full press statements:
“The North Carolina SBI was requested by the Madison County Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney to investigate a possible assault of a juvenile in custody at the Madison County Jail. The alleged assault was by two detention officers. The SBI immediately responded and began investigating. This case has taken a considerable amount of time due to this being a juvenile case. There are several special agents assigned, and this case continues to be active and ongoing. We hope to share our findings with the District Attorney soon.” -NC SBI Information Director Chad Flowers
“The North Carolina Department of Public Safety will not offer comment on a pending investigation being conducted by another agency. The Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention takes allegations of abuse seriously and maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of abuse and neglect. Per DJJDP policy and by North Carolina General Statute (G.S. 7B-301) DJJDP staff have a duty to report allegations of abuse or neglect and must fully cooperate with DSS and law enforcement investigations. DJJDP has nothing to add to the previous statements provided regarding the closure of Madison Juvenile Detention Center.” - NC DPS Communications Officer Matt Debnam
