Report: Sheriff Hands Out Punishments in Case of Teens Left Alone in Cell

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says at least three staffers have been issued punishments for their roles in leaving two juvenile suspects locked up and unattended for an entire weekend in a courthouse holding cell last month.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported two ranking officers and at least one deputy have been reprimanded. Details about the punishments were not disclosed, but that they are under appeal.

The teens, ages 16 and 17, were inadvertently left alone without food and other comforts at the Douglas County courthouse during the weekend of Friday, June 20. They had been at the courthouse for hearings on Friday and were supposed to be transported back to a youth detention center, but neither boy’s parents showed up at the courthouse. Instead, the boys were left in holding cells and were not discovered until Monday morning, June 23.

The case also prompted Douglas County Commissioner Kelly Robinson to initiate an independent inquiry. Sheriff Phil Miller said deputies assigned to security failed to check the cells before leaving for the weekend. “I’m embarrassed today as I can possibly be,” Miller said in a press conference on Tuesday, June 24.