US: Transgender teen found after escaping custody

Sep 17 2014
Written by John DeLamar

A transgender teenage girl is back in custody after escaping from a Connecticut treatment centre.

Jane Doe, a Connecticut trans teenager, escaped from a Connecticut home for delinquent boys after attending her first day of therapeutic treatment. Officials say they found her on Tuesday, several hours after the attempted escape.

Gary Kleeblatt, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, said he was thankful for her recovery.

He said: “We are relieved that she is not injured, and we want to thank the Hartford Police Department for their diligent and effective work.”

Doe has been moved several times by the Department of Children and Families after an April ruling ordered that she be imprisoned without criminal charges. She was 16 at the time of the ruling.

In July she was moved from the Albert J Solnit Children’s Psychiatric Center to a Connecticut home for delinquent boys after she was accused of assaulting another youth and staff member.

Lawyers for the teen say she has suffered sexual abuse and has an array of mental health needs.

The case has received national attention when Doe’s confinement caused an outcry from supporters and advocates over her living conditions and being placed in facilities that do not align with her gender identity.