A counselor, a referee, and a fight club — juvenile correctional officers have been indicted for staging gladiator-type brawls amongst youth offenders.

From December 2023 to January 2024, 69 fights involving 143 juvenile detainees took place at Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center in Downey, California. The boys’ ages ranged from 12 to 18, according to the Sacramento Bee.

More than 29 officers have been charged with child abuse, endangerment, and conspiracy to commit battery.

“Watching the video, the officers look more like referees or audience members at a prize fight, not adults charged with the care and supervision of young people,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Some officers are even seen laughing and shaking hands with the young people involved.”

A video of the gladiator fights disclosed an altercation where one youth fought eight one-on-one bouts and suffered a broken nose, noted the article.

The detention center is overseen by the Los Angeles County Probation Department, which stated that it is in agreement with the investigation and charges.

Stacy Ford, president of the L.A. County Deputy Probation Officers’ Union, represents the officers charged. “[We] will do everything in our power” to support them,” Ford said.

“Every American is innocent until proven guilty,” she added. “Our members are entitled to this same presumption of innocence and deserve to be treated with fairness and due process, just as they provide to those in their custody.”

Attorney Tom Yu denied the charges against his client, the Director of the Los Padrinos Detention Center.

“My client didn’t set up any fights,” Yu said. “He didn’t know about any fights, so I’m not sure how they got him into this as an accomplice.”

Prior to the staged fights, an order was given to close the detention center in order to stop the smuggling of contraband and to halt retaliation for filed grievances by the youth. The facility remained open because the county did not have any juvenile detention alternatives, reported the Bee.

People who work in law enforcement have a sworn duty to cater to the safety of juvenile defenders.

“While these incidents are deeply troubling, we believe this marks an important step toward rebuilding trust and reinforcing our commitment to the meaningful changes we are proposing in our juvenile facilities,” the Los Angeles County Probation Department noted.