BATON ROUGE — More than 50 lawsuits have been filed against the former Jetson Center for Youth, alleging sexual abuse by correctional officers who worked at the shuttered East Baton Rouge Parish juvenile facility — a wave of litigation landing just as the state moves ahead with plans to reopen part of the same site.
According to WBRZ's Investigative Unit, 52 lawsuits have been filed on behalf of alleged victims over the past two months, naming correctional officers who worked at the Louisiana Training Institute and the Jetson Center for Youth. The suits allege officers abused children ranging in age from 11 to 17 who were in the state's custody, with the allegations spanning from 1972 to 2005. Jetson officially closed its doors in 2014 after years of reported problems, including juvenile escapes and substandard conditions.
Antonio Travis, Leadership Development Manager with Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, told WBRZ the lawsuits don't surprise him. "You know we've been advocating for a long time, 25 years to be exact, for this institution to adopt a more restorative approach to how they deal with our young people," Travis said. He argued that rebuilding Jetson under the same punitive model that produced these allegations risks repeating the same outcomes: "We're going to get the same results, we're going to get the same stories, right, we're going to keep getting these things over and over again."
That warning lands at a pointed moment. Rather than being permanently retired, part of the Jetson campus is currently being brought back into service by the state.
The Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice has been planning to reopen a section of the Jetson site in Baker to help relieve overcrowding elsewhere in the state's youth prison system, with agency undersecretary Jason Starnes telling lawmakers the department intends to move roughly 36 low- to moderate-risk youth into a renovated dorm unit there. Officials have said they're adding fencing and security cameras and completing remodeling work ahead of reopening, with a target as early as this year. A separate, newly constructed 72-bed facility is planned for the same site, intended to serve as an intake and diagnostic center, with completion expected in 2027-2028.
Advocates who spoke to WBRZ said they reached out to the Office of Juvenile Justice for comment on both the lawsuits and the reopening timeline but had not received a response as of publication. Louisiana's juvenile justice system has faced recurring criticism over the years, with prior investigations, lawsuits and legislative reform efforts — including a 2008 law that mandated downsizing Jetson's East Baton Rouge unit — aimed at moving the state away from large, centralized facilities and toward smaller, community-based and therapeutic models.
This is a developing story. WECU Media will update if the Office of Juvenile Justice responds, and as the lawsuits and reopening timeline proceed.
Sources
● WBRZ, "Over 50 lawsuits tied to former Jetson Youth Center; advocates push for the facility to stay closed," Aug. 7, 2026
● WBRZ Investigative Unit, "More than 50 lawsuits allege sexual abuse by officers at EBR juvenile correctional facility," Aug. 5, 2026
● Louisiana Illuminator, "State officials say East Baton Rouge youth prison could reopen as soon as April," Nov. 26, 2025
● WBRZ, "Jetson Center for Youth set to house juveniles again, as soon as next spring," May 30, 2026
● Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), advocacy statements