With search warrants in hand the Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constables Office assisted the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in executing a search warrant on Care Cottage on I-45 in Willis. Care Cottage has two facilities in Willis which care for at risk girls ages 6-17. The search warrants were issued after several outcries of young girls being abused that were living there. Care Cottage South is on FM 2432 and opened in 2015 with 20 females. Care Cottage North on I-45 has 45 females. According to a search warrant, the alleged abuse includes choke marks on a seventh-grade girl’s neck, a ninth grader who was hog-tied as punishment, and a 14-year-old autistic girl who suffered a broken arm after being aggressively restrained. In that incident the young girl was at school and complained to her teacher about her arm injured. She was taken to the school nurse who determined the girl did need medical attention but had already been to Conroe Regional Hospital. The hospital who prescribed medication and a follow up with a doctor since the swelling on the arm did not allow x-rays. The follow-up was never done. The nurse contacted CPS. It was learned that the young girl was assaulted by a caretaker. After the incident the girl was taken to an office at Care Cottage and was told to call her mother, while on speaker phone and tell her mother she injured her arm on a trampoline. Several days later the young lady ran away and got a ride to school, there she told school officials that her arm was still hurting and that Care Cottage employees were mad at her because the caretaker who injured her was fired. The young girl said other caretakers grabbed her arm telling her nothing was wrong with it and hurt her more. Again, several days later the girl ran away again after she was restrained for not eating her cereal fast enough at breakfast. She ran away to her school where her teacher saw additional marks on her neck and arms and was told by the child that caretakers pulled her foot up to her back hurting her ankle. Then on October 31, the girl was removed, and her mother took custody of her. She took her to an orthopedic surgeon who confirmed she had a fractured arm and a piece of bone was chipped. Her ankle was also sprained. A few days later another Care Cottage resident went to the school nurse at her school complaining of shortness of breath and rapid heart rate. The nurse called Care Cottage who stated they would pick her up. Over 2-hours later and after a second call to Care Cottage the girl was picked up. Another student a a Willis School and a resident of Care Cottage suffered lice for over 2-weeks. She was treated with mayonnaise and tea tree oil by caretakers. Another resident was brought to the school nurses office at her Willis School and was very lethargic and her eyes rolled back in her head. Care Cottage was contacted by the nurse and stated it was caused by a change in her medication but provided no documentation. In February another student came to school with a broken ankle that happened when she jumped off a second-floor window at Care Cottage. Two weeks later another student with an injured back, this also from jumping out a second floor Care Cottage window. Both of these had been runaway attempts. In February another student came to school with red choke marks. Another student told her teacher that during Spring Break she was sexually assaulted by a much older male and given meth after running away from Care Cottage. Then in February a message was sent to a Willis School official that a Care Taker was having sexual relations with a 16-year old resident. A staff member allegedly logged it as an “alleged inappropriate staff relationship” to minimize the incident. That incident is being investigated by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Another resident ran away from the facility and showed up at school. The school officer contacted Care Cottage and a driver was sent to get the student. When the officer checked the identification before releasing the resident the officer learned the drivers license had been suspended. Several other girls told school officials that the staff had been drinking alcohol at the facility and some was thrown on one girl after an argument. It was also learned that privileges such as snacks and phone calls would be taken away from residents if they talked to CPS workers who tried to investigate. It should be noted that in each and every case of reports to teachers, administrators, and staff of the Willis ISD, that a report was filed with CPS.
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services issued this statement Wednesday evening: “It is crucial that we do not disrupt the lives of these children and youth unless absolutely necessary. We are in contact with law enforcement, we are in the facility regularly, and are confident it is a safe placement. If that changes we will act accordingly.”
