RALEIGH - The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is close to completing its investigation into allegations that a teenager was assaulted while housed at the now-closed Madison County Juvenile Detention Center.
The facility, which was operated by the Madison County Sheriff's Office, was shut down after state officials moved juveniles from the jail and terminated its operating agreement following concerns about conditions and disciplinary practices.
SBI spokesperson Chad Flowers said the investigation regards a detainee, either 16 or 17 at the time, who reported being assaulted while in custody in January 2024. The youth in May 2024 alerted a court counselor, who then notified the Madison County Department of Social Services.
The juvenile
was moved to the Edgecombe County Youth Development Center on May 2, 2024, and the sheriff's office then requested an SBI investigation.
Flowers said on Sept. 29 that the investigation should be finished soon.
The investigation comes after a series of concerns about the facility, which occupied two pods inside the Madison County jail in Marshall.
Pepper spray, no windows and the 'detox cell'
The detention center started housing juvenile detainees from Polk, Henderson, Transylvania, Jackson, Macon, Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Swain, Haywood, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell and Avery counties in November 2019.
On Dec. 3, 2024, Disability Rights North Carolina conducted an unannounced visit and reported concerns including alleged disciplinary practices that did not comply with state juvenile justice policies. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety then ended its agreement with Madison County and moved all detainees from the facility.
A 2026 report from Disability Rights North Carolina alleged that the youths in custody at the Madison County facility had been subjected to pepper spray, tasers and were sometimes placed in lockdown or solitary confinement.
Use of solitary confinement violates Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention policy, which county-contracted juvenile detention centers must follow. The North Carolina state prison system in 2016 banned the use of solitary confinement for detainees younger than 18.
Disability Rights North Carolina's report also described use of a "detox cell," a bare holding cell with no toilet, only a hole in the floor, and no shower.
"It was odorous, cold, barren, and reportedly outside the view of cameras," the report reads. "The detox cell had no windows to the outside, no bed, and nothing to sit on."
The report said the juvenile detention center, housed in two pods of the adult jail on Medical Park Drive in Marshall, resembled an adult correctional facility, with heavy sliding doors to cells. Youths’ cells had no windows to the outside, only narrow windows to the cell block.
DJJDP policy calls for cell confinement to be used as discipline only after all less restrictive measures have been exhausted or have been determined ineffective, the report noted.
Sheriff says detainees were treated with respect
The News-Record on Sept. 29 met with Madison County Sheriff Buddy Harwood. While declining to comment on the SBI investigation, he said juveniles at the facility were treated with respect and that force was used only when necessary.
"This is a jail," Harwood said. "Occasionally we have to pepper spray. We use the minimal amount of force necessary."
He said detainees were treated with respect.
"Even with the heinous crimes they were charged with, they were human beings. They got treated with the utmost respect while they were here," Harwood said. "We gave them respect, they gave us respect, and occasionally, yes, you would have to taser or pepper spray."
He also described the challenges of housing the youths.
"When you hear the word 'children,' these weren't children we were taking care of," he said. "These were individuals charged with heinous crimes. Some of them could have played professional football. We housed alleged murderers, alleged rapists. I housed juveniles that no one else in the state could house."
Flowers said the investigation has taken longer than expected because it involves a juvenile victim and also due to Hurricane Helene-related disruptions and an SBI agent's maternity leave.
Once the investigation concludes, findings will be turned over to District Attorney Seth Banks, who will determine whether to bring charges or take other action.
"After we investigate the case, whatever our case file has in it is then turned back over to the district attorney, and he/she goes through that case file and makes the decision whether to charge or not charge, or take the issue to the grand jury, or exactly how they want to proceed with the case," Flowers said. "But all of that is within the purview of the district attorney.”
"As soon as we get the SBI's report, we will work diligently to review the report and make a determination in conjunction with the SBI on how to move forward," Banks said.
Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Investigation into alleged assault at Madison County juvenile detention facility nears end
