Attorneys for the transgender juvenile at a Connecticut women's prison say the Department of Correction will not transfer the teen to Manson Correctional Institution, a male facility.
Aaron Romano, who is representing the juvenile in federal court, is working with the DOC on a plan that he hopes will be more rehabilitative, despite the fact the 16-year-old is in a correctional adult facility.
Listen to a portion of the interview with Mr. Romano below:
Connecticut's Department of Children and Families released a lengthy statement late Friday afternoon saying the transfer of the transgender teen from DCF to DOC custody "is not in any way related to the youth's gender identity."
DCF maintained that none of its facilities can hold the juvenile safely. The agency said the teen has an extensive history of violence, including targeting females at several programs.
The teen's public defender, James Connolly, said she should be in a rehabilitative setting like the new locked girls unit DCF opened up in Middletown in March.
In its statement, DCF said that "it would be unacceptable to place the youth in the girls program at Solnit where other girls and female staff persons would be placed in serious jeopardy."
The teen's attorneys refuted the claim that she is dangerous. They also questioned DCF's decision to seek a court order that effectively transferred the teen from DCF to DOC custody.
More court action is anticipated.
