"Multiple employees" of the largest housing provider for unaccompanied minors illegally crossing the U.S. southern border allegedly committed various forms of sexual abuse on children in their care, all while the nonprofit's leadership turned a blind eye, a new lawsuit from the Department of Justice claims.On Thursday, the DOJ announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs Inc., claiming that by either facilitating or ignoring the abuse, the nonprofit had violated the Fair Housing Act.Both employees also reportedly threatened to harm or even kill the children or their families if they reported the abuse. Perhaps equally as abhorrent, other staff members at the shelters allegedly knew about the attacks and failed to report them.Southwest Key runs a total of 29 shelters for unaccompanied migrant minors, 17 in Texas, 10 in Arizona, and two in California. In all, Southwest Key can provide housing for 6,350 children.Since at least 2015, some of the nonprofit's employees have allegedly engaged in heinous acts of sexual abuse, including "sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments," the DOJ press release claimed.Thus far, at least two such employees have been criminally charged. A male working at the Casa Franklin shelter in El Paso, Texas, allegedly touched the "private area" of three girls between ages 5 and 11. Another employee from a Southwest Key facility in Tucson, Arizona, allegedly brought an 11-year-old boy to a hotel and paid him to perform sex acts for several days.Both employees also reportedly threatened to harm or even kill the children or their families if they reported the abuse. Perhaps equally as abhorrent, other staff members at the shelters allegedly knew about the abuse and failed to report it."Southwest Key took insufficient action to prevent sexual harassment of the children in its care, failed to consistently follow federal requirements for preventing, detecting and reporting abuse including sexual harassment, failed to take appropriate or sufficient action to protect the children in its care and discouraged children from disclosing sexual harassment in violation of federal requirements," the press release stated.Southwest Key receives funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As of May 31, nearly 7,800 children are in the care of HHS-funded facilities, though how many of those children are in Southwest Key shelters is unclear.The AP reached out to Southwest Key for comment, as did Blaze News. We did not receive a response.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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A large Roman venue hosting horse-drawn chariot races in antiquity has been found in northern Spain at the Iruña-Veleia site. Situated 10 kilometers from Vitoria-Gasteiz, it was found to contain a Roman circus measuring 280 meters (approximately 920 feet) in length, capable of seating around 5,000 spectators! This finding, revealed by the excavation leaders using remote sensing techniques, highlighted the outlines of the stands and the circus. Iruña-Veleia: Roman Circus Town? The discovery suggests that Iruña-Veleia was more significant than previously believed. This announcement was made by Basque institutions and Arkikus archaeology company leaders, brothers Iker and Javier Ordoño, who first identified signs of the circus in 2020 using aerial photographs and helped by their color blindness, reports Arkikus, who’re carrying out the investigation. The researchers explained that:  “It gives an idea of the importance that Iruña-Veleia had. Not just anyone had a circus like this, with 280 meters it's like having three soccer fields lined up one behind the other.” The discovery was enabled through "surface remote sensing of the site via historical and modern aerial photographs, LiDAR laser scanner mapping, and drone images." Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesEuropeRead Later 

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