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UPDATED: TYC ombudsman indicted, resigns
UPDATE: Indicted Texas Youth Commission ombudsman Catherine Evans has resigned, hours after she was indicted for allegedly smuggling a folding knife into an East Texas youth lockup.
The just-issued statement from Allison Castle, Perry’s press secretary:
“The office of the Ombudsman is an important position for the agency and the youth and it is clear that Catherine Evans’ bad judgment and the indictment have hampered her credibility and effectiveness in this role.
“The governor’s office has been in contact with Ms. Evans and she has agreed to resign. Gov. Perry has accepted her resignation and will appoint a replacement as soon as possible.”
In her own statement, Evans said she regretted the incident that has landed her in legal trouble. But she said she expects to be cleared of wrongdoing.
Evans’ statement:
“I’m surprised and dismayed by the Grand Jury’s True Bill of my case this week. At every step of my life and my career as an attorney, a juvenile court judge and as the Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Youth Commission, I have upheld the spirit and the letter of the law. My professional commitment to the protection, prevention and rehabilitation of our children is also my personal passion.
“Of the many concerns that people have communicated to me in my role as the Independent Ombudsman, one of the most disturbing was the issue of security in our juvenile facilities. I passed along those concerns to the Commission’s Executive Director and a directive went out to improve oversight. I can attest that security screenings at the facilities have begun to improve. In fact, during one of my visits, security officers found a very small Swiss Army knife that I had completely forgotten was in my handbag. What should have been the simple matter of disposing of it, has now become a much more serious issue. It was a regrettable mistake. I am very sorry it happened, but I am now prepared to defend myself until this is resolved. I am confident that I did not violate the law.
“The Texas juvenile justice system is in critical need of scrutiny and reform, and I take my responsibilities for leading this effort with gravity and humility. I believe we can do better for our youth. Unfortunately, the personal circumstances that I now find my self defending have caused me to believe that I can no longer effectively lead this campaign. Therefore, I am resigning my position as Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Youth Commission effective immediately. It has been my honor to serve the State of Texas.
“The most important thing is the integrity, safety and efficacy of our juvenile correctional facilities. I remain committed to improving the juvenile justice system.”
EARLIER STORY: The newly appointed ombudsman for the Texas Youth Commission has been indicted on a felony criminal charge for allegedly smuggling a weapon into an East Texas lockup for teen-aged lawbreakers, officials confirmed at midday.
Catherine S. Evans, a former Dallas state district judge, was indicted on a third-degree felony for carrying a prohibited item — a knife — into a correctional facility, according to Gina DeBottis, director of special unit that prosecutes prison crimes statewide.
If convicted, Evans faces two to 10 years in prison.
No other details were immediately available, DeBottis said. The indictment, handed up last week by a Houston County grand jury, was unsealed late this morning.
Evans could not immediately be reached for comment.
In October, Evans had been barred from touring all Youth Commission lockups amid reports that she smuggled contraband — including a weapon, a cell phone, prescription drugs and cash — past guards in a possible violation of state law.
She had denied the accusations.
In addition, Evans — who was named ombudsman in early September by Gov. Rick Perry — was the focus of a second investigation into allegations that she also smuggled contraband into the Al Price State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Beaumont.
As a result, Youth Commission Executive Director Cherie Townsend had prohibited Evans from entering Youth Commission lockups pending the completion of the investigation.
Perry aides earlier said they were awaiting the results of the investigations before determining whether Evans would remain as ombudsman.
In a preliminary official report that Evans and an assistant ombudsman reportedly filed after visiting the Beaumont lockup Sept. 22-23, Evans said that she carried in “a brown canvas bag containing a weapon, an iPhone, prescription medicine and $300” through a security checkpoint at the gatehouse.
“Ms. Evans carried her bag through the metal detector and the alarm sounded,” the report stated. “Ms. Evans opened her bag and the guard glanced in, but none of the items listed above were identified. The guard made no further effort to identify what set off the detector’s alarm.”
In a subsequent conversation with the lockup’s security director, Evans said, she was told that “dorm staff often work the gatehouse and are not trained in conducting proper searches,” the report states.
During the past year, the smuggling of contraband, particularly cell phones, into state prisons for adults has been a high-profile statewide issue.
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By Tracy
December 3, 2009 3:36 PM | Link to this
OH please we all knew this ombudsman group was a bunch of idiots when they made visits to the facilities in flip flops which first of all are just plainly unprofessional, especially for a group representing the state of Texas in their capacity. Second, flip flops are against dress code policy at every TYC facility. what a bunch of morons-serves her right.
By Tracy
December 3, 2009 3:30 PM | Link to this
OH please we all knew this ombudsman group was a bunch of idiots when they made visits to the facilities in flip flops which first of all are just plainly unprofessional, especially for a group representing the state of Texas in their capacity. Second, flip flops are against dress code policy at every TYC facility. what a bunch of morons-serves her right.
By paula
December 1, 2009 7:16 AM | Link to this
Send her to jail and let her straighten out the youth in there. Save the taxpayers millions close this joint down. Say maybe she can take the liar Robin and the thief Cynthia with her.
By jpt51
November 30, 2009 9:55 PM | Link to this
Oh no, not another case of Gov. Perry mismanagement!! Can the guy pick anyone who doesn’t mess up whatever they touch? This must be scandal #1001 so far in eight years. How many state services are going down the sewer because Perry picks crony friends to run agencies they know nothing about or are appointed to destroy the agency! The governor is either incompetent or ruthlessly destroying the expertise within state government that took decades to build. Why would anyone want to vote Gov. Perry another term? Vote for anyone but Perry.
By Snoop
November 30, 2009 9:26 PM | Link to this
Y’all—-The law applies to everyone. She got caught with the contraband and she will suffer the consequenses. Why have laws if you are going to give exceptions to the wealthy and powerfull.
By PutAttenccion...
November 30, 2009 7:36 PM | Link to this
SERIOUSLY: You’re an idiot. She’s a fool for taking a knife to the facility… she wasn’t a “civilian” for chrissakes, she was an employee of TYC!!! Does she have the memory of a gnat? What’s been happening there for the past 3 years!!!??? You are either “her” or a friend/family member who is equally deficient in the common sense category taking up for stupidity. This is depressing, this means now there are two of you who ca’t see what an ignorant thing this was…
By Get it right
November 30, 2009 5:31 PM | Link to this
was indicted on a third-degree felony for carrying a prohibited item — a knife — into a correctional facility, This is a farce, the weapon was a .38 revolver and Ms. Evans knew she was not supposed to attempt to bring in such a weapon just to “test” the security at the Al Price facility. She is not above the law. Ms. Evans needs to be punished as any other felon would be.
By IfTruthBeTold
November 30, 2009 4:56 PM | Link to this
Woman is an evil doer, like all Perry’s gay appointees.
By tired of the coverups
November 30, 2009 4:02 PM | Link to this
this will be shoved under the rug. young people are thrown into prison for what starts off as a petty crime before the police and district attorneys add all kinds of charges to incarcerate incarcerate incarcerate at all costs to feed a prison bureaucracy where lots of rich corporations and people make money off of housing people for long unconstitutional sentences and where people come up for parole and are denied parole because perry wants to appear tough on crime. this woman broke the law and she can not plead ignorance because all day long she told the accused that was no excuse. this is sickening
By Mike Ward's Hammock
November 30, 2009 2:44 PM | Link to this
I didn’t know Mike Ward knew how to write an article w/o a John Whitmire quote on how TYC is a disgrace that needs to be shut down. I expect some editing to be done soon…very soon
By More seriousness here
November 30, 2009 2:30 PM | Link to this
Hey “sp”… Please don’t talk about lack of understanding of the criminal justice system when you OBVIOUSLY don’t understand basic syntax and grammar. “Seriously???” made a lot of sense. I doubt that this woman was trying to smuggle contraband to an inmate, and to put her through the ringer for this is stupidity at its finest. She carried her handbag through the screening. When the alarm went off, the security guard looked in her bag, found nothing wrong, and sent her on her way. If Obama walked into the prison with his Blackberry in his pocket, would he also be indicted? Or would people use reasonable logic to determine he was not trying to hook an inmate up with a cell phone? From what you’re saying, he should be barred from prisons and he should be sent to prison for his actions. I mean, really… who brings a cell phone to a jail house???
By sp
November 30, 2009 1:53 PM | Link to this
Seriously??? — ARE YOU NUTS! This is a major big deal. You don’t take phones into a juvenile or adult prison, no knives, no drugs. And this woman — a former judge knew what the rules were. It wasn’t her purse. And you don’t take a purse into prison if you It wasn’t her job to test the security. Don’t comment on criminal justice matters that you obviously don’t understand.
By nice
November 30, 2009 1:30 PM | Link to this
WTH?
By Li'lWayne
November 30, 2009 1:30 PM | Link to this
Rick Perry is the worst thing that has happened to Texas, and his sleazeball gay-loving fake-right-wing appointees are going to haunt the rest of us all the dayz of our lives, while Rainbow Rick has his boyfriends and his witch of a wife haunts her parts of Austin.
By SERIOUSLY???
November 30, 2009 12:38 PM | Link to this
This is sad. The woman brought her purse into the facility, and now she’s being thrown under the bus? Who smuggles an iphone? If you’re gonna bring a phone in for the prosoners, you’d probably bring a cheap throwaway. The prescrip drugs were probably hers, and the “knife” was probably something she used to cut open a grafefruit for lunch. These folks need to get real and stop crying wolf before some REAl threat coes along.