Supervisors stomped on 16-year-old at detention center, tried covering it up, feds say
A 16-year-old detained at a juvenile detention center needed nine stitches after federal prosecutors said he was dragged into a private room, beaten and stomped on by two supervisors at the facility.
One of the supervisors, Daquan Seymour, 34, has pleaded guilty after he was accused of violating the teen’s civil rights and trying to cover up his involvement in the beating at the Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx, New York, in April 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a Nov. 12 news release.
Seymour’s court-appointed defense attorneys didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Nov. 13.
Seymour “abused his position of authority by assaulting a vulnerable sixteen-year-old boy who was detained pending trial” and “also lied on his reports about this and another assault on a minor in his care,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
How the beating unfolded
Seymour worked at the detention center run by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services as an associate youth development specialist, prosecutors said.
He was supposed to supervise employees and make sure the minors held at the facility were safe, according to prosecutors.
During one of his shifts, a confrontation involving staff and juvenile residents, including the 16-year-old, broke out on April 25, 2022, prosecutors said.
Afterward, Seymour and Rashawn Walker, another supervisor, grabbed the 16-year-old by his forearms and dragged him across the floor of a residential hall, according to court documents.
They pulled him into a private room and began to assault the teen, prosecutors said.
The men punched the teen in the face and torso several times “as (he) lay on the floor” and “took steps to restrain (him), including by pinning down (his) hands during the beating,” an indictment says.
Seymour and Walker taunted him and hurled profanities as they beat him, according to the indictment.
The attack ended with Walker delivering “a final and forceful stomp” to the teen’s stomach and groin area, according to the indictment.
A superseding indictment filed against Seymour in September said both men stomped on the 16-year-old.
The case against Walker was dropped because he has since died, court records show.
Attorneys Lorraine Gauli-Rufo and Hannah Eaves, who represented Walker, told McClatchy News in an emailed statement on Nov. 14 that “the Constitution commands that Mr. Walker is presumed innocent until he is proven to be guilty.”
“Mr. Walker maintained his innocence and never wavered in his decision to exercise his right to a trial by a jury of his peers,” they added.
The attempted cover-up
The assault left the 16-year-old with a deep cut by his upper lip and other injuries, according to prosecutors.
He was taken to a hospital, where he received emergency medical care, prosecutors said.
Seymour tried to avoid getting implicated in the beating by writing a false report, according to prosecutors.
In the report, he mentioned the confrontation involving the 16-year-old, other minors and staff members — without detailing his physical assault on the teen, prosecutors said.
Seymour, of the Bronx, has pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Seymour also tried to beat a 17-year-old detainee months later, on Dec. 29, 2021, and wrote a false report afterward, according to prosecutors. He was charged in connection with the incident.
In that report, Seymour tried to hide “his use of force,” including that he attempted to hit the teen, tackled him to the floor and restrained him face down, the superseding indictment says.
He lied by writing he “tried to ‘secure’ (the teen) in a ‘side assist,’ but ‘slipped on yogurt’ and fell to the floor,” according to the superseding indictment.
As part of Seymour’s guilty plea, prosecutors said he agreed that he lied in that report, prosecutors said.
“Seymour’s pattern of violence toward youth and obstruction has now come to an end as he faces justice,” Williams said.
Seymour’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13, court records show.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Supervisors stomped on 16-year-old at detention center, tried covering it up, feds say."
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