The New Orleans district attorney on Monday charged a juvenile jail counselor with second-degree cruelty to juveniles, and the Civil Service Commission denied his appeal of his termination after he allegedly beat a 16-year-old boy with a handheld radio and his fists.
In the meantime, the boy’s mother has sued the city.
“I’m going to show you a bi–h,” Garland Duplessis, 51, allegedly told the boy before attacking him in a Juvenile Justice Intervention Center cell at around noon on Dec. 15.
Duplessis had escorted the youth from school to his detention unit at the JJIC when the youth began speaking loudly to him, according to a decision filed by the City Civil Service Commission. The center’s director, Dichelle Williams, said the youth was rapping.
JJC staff told New Orleans police that Duplessis “aggressively cursed the juvenile about not leaving the door open,” according to the police gist. Video captured Duplessis allegedly attacking the child and leaving him with a broken nose, contusions and cuts on his eye and face that required medical care at Children’s Hospital, according to the commission’s decision.
“Instead of de-escalating the situation or requesting assistance from other staff, Mr. Duplessis assaulted the youth so severely that the room was covered in blood,” the commission found.
Duplessis declined to make any comments at NOPD headquarters shortly after the incident, and he was arrested on one count of second degree cruelty to juveniles. On Monday, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams’ office accepted the charge against Duplessis, while the commission denied appeal.
“Mr. Duplessis’s use of physical force was egregious, causing significant injuries to a youth under his supervision,” the decision read.
The victim’s mother filed a lawsuit March 26 against Dichelle Williams and the city in federal court, alleging her son sustained permanent brain injuries and emotional injury. She seeks $1 billion in damages for pain and suffering.
On Thursday, city attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that “city defendants do not share in responsibility for Duplessis’ alleged criminal conduct.”