Sex trafficking allegations get Senate hearing as committee dives deep into foster care system

Was there or wasn’t there sex trafficking at The Refuge, the Bastrop-based residential treatment center? A Texas Senate hearing held Thursday dove deep into the allegations. But despite its charge to investigate it, the committee didn’t have a conclusive answer to the question. The special committee did however look into all manner of legislative investments and reforms of the state’s troubled foster care system. Accusations that the crimes had occurred at the facility specifically catering to victims of the crimes first surfaced in court documents last week. The initial question is a big one. It made national headlines, spurred state executive leaders and led to the creation of the Senate committee. In short, employees of the Department of Family and Protective Services suspected sex trafficking was happening at The Refuge.

They reported allegations of child pornography that seemed to fit the code around trafficking as well as an instance where Refuge staff helped two youth run away and who may have assisted them in obtaining a hotel room. Despite these allegations, the head of Texas Department of Public Safety told the Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday that the Texas Rangers — after six days — had yet to find any evidence of sex abuse or sex trafficking. “I think that it's too soon, too early to declare whether or not sex trafficking was occurring or the setup for sex trafficking was occurring,” said Sen. Jose Menendez, a Democrat from San Antonio who sits on the new Special Committee on Child Protective Services. Menendez said he thought the letter to Abbott from DPS Director Steven McCraw was premature in announcing initial findings of no evidence, especially given the allegations it confirmed about nude photos of kids and staff putting “escaped” kids up in hotels. Thursday’s hearing provided the most comprehensive detail on the alleged crimes to date with both DPS and DFPS leadership testifying about the allegations and failures of some state agencies.