Youth detention center employee charged with arranging fight - The Denver Post

Youth detention center employee charged with arranging fight - The Denver Post
An officer at a youth detention center in Denver was charged today with arranging a fight between two jailed offenders.

The Denver District Attorney's Office said in a statement that William Pride, 35, "while on duty at Gilliam Youth Services Center, brought a juvenile over from an adjacent pod to enter another juvenile's room and assault him."

The ages of the male juveniles were not released and the court records are sealed, according to a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office.

Gilliam is a court-ordered facility at 2844 Downing St. in Denver is under the administration of state Department of Human Services.

Gilliam's director, Cornelius Foxworth, said only, "Right now it's an ongoing investigation with the Denver Police Department," and referred other questions to a DHS spokeswoman Liz McDonough.

McDonough said Pride, who was hired in 2005, is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case against him.

DHS's Division on Youth Corrections incarcerates juveniles 10 to 20 years old for crimes commited before their 18th birthday. McDonough said its rare to have inmates as young as 10 or as old as 20, however. Most are teenagers younger than 18, she said.

Pride was arrested on May 13 and is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a felony, and official oppression, a misdemeanor.

He is free on a $50,000 bond and will be in court on June 1, according to the District Attorney's Office.