Camille Cain, the Executive Director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, issued this statement regarding today’s arrest of Andrea Banks, a former Youth Development Coach at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex, in Brownwood:

On the evening of Tuesday, July 14, TJJD received allegations of potential criminal behavior against Andrea Banks, who worked at the Ron Jackson facility. TJJD immediately suspended her, and the following morning, TJJD’s Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Texas Rangers, began an initial investigation.

TJJD terminated Banks’s employment later that day as a result of those findings. This morning, the Office of the Inspector General arrested Banks for improper sexual activity with a person in custody or under supervision.

Banks, who is 37 years old and was hired by TJJD in 2011, was booked into the Brown County Jail. The case will be referred to the Special Prosecution Unit. I want to thank the Office of the Inspector General and the Texas Rangers for their swift and professional action in this case.

Without exception, any employee who betrays their oath to protect our youth and commits a criminal act will face the highest penalties allowed under the law. TJJD has zero tolerance for such behavior, and I encourage anyone who suspects abuse, neglect, or criminal activity to report it immediately.