PHOENIX – Arizona authorities say they have sent prosecutors the results of an investigation into a now-shuttered shelter for immigrant children where videos showed staffers dragging and shoving kids.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office investigated the incidents at the Hacienda del Sol facility in Youngtown that took place over three days in September.
Prosecutors will decide whether to file charges.
The videos obtained by The Arizona Republic are blurry but show staffers dragging children on the ground and shoving a boy against a door.
The Republic reported that the sheriff's office previously said there were no grounds for a referral to prosecutors, but it reversed course Monday.
Jeff Eller, a spokesman for Southwest Key, which owned the facility before it closed, said staff immediately reported the incidents to police and to the government agencies that oversee the care of immigrant cikldren.
The shelter held immigrant children who came to the U.S. without a parent or in some cases were separated from family.
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