Pulaski County juvenile detention center director facing sexual assault, harassment charges

Will surrender, his lawyer says

FILE — A Pulaski County government landmark sign in downtown Little Rock is shown in this 2019 file photo.
FILE — A Pulaski County government landmark sign in downtown Little Rock is shown in this 2019 file photo.


Ronald Lee "Ronnie" Routh, who resigned this week as director of the Pulaski County Juvenile Detention Center, will surrender Monday to face sexual assault and misdemeanor harassment charges involving children at the facility, his lawyer, Bill Watt, said Friday.

Reached for comment Friday, Watt said he and his client have not been told any details of the accusations so he could not answer questions about the charges. Routh, 66, is scheduled to appear for arraignment before District Judge Wayne Gruber at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Routh had been on administrative leave since July when county officials acknowledged there was a criminal probe into sexual misconduct at the facility. The investigation came to light when the state Department of Human Services and counties that were paying Pulaski County to house their delinquent children began removing them from the center.

The charges, one felony sexual assault and three misdemeanor counts of harassment, are the result of a Pulaski County sheriff's office probe involving four boys last year, said Lt. Cody Burk, the sheriff's spokesman. He said deputies had been called in to investigate possible criminal conduct at the center by the State Police's civilian Crimes Against Children division. The results of the sheriff's probe were turned over to prosecutors for review on Nov. 21. The sexual assault charge is a Class B felony that carries a 20-year maximum penalty.

Records obtained through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act show the Crimes Against Children division, which investigates child maltreatment, launched its probe on June 23 based on incidents at the center that are alleged to have occurred June 18-June 19.

The accusations came at a time when the youth lockup was so crowded that a state watchdog labeled the facility as dangerous to children, some of whom had to sleep on mats, sometimes in rooms that had no toilet access.

Routh was County Judge Barry Hyde's choice to head the 48-bed center next door to the sheriff's office and jail. Hyde's secretary said he was not available Friday afternoon and he did not return a message seeking comment.

Routh began his career in the late 1970s as a sheriff's deputy before taking the directorship at the detention center from 1977 through 1980 when he became the jail administrator for two years.

Routh left public service then, returning in 2015 at the invitation of then-Sheriff Doc Holladay to serve as administrative lieutenant for safety and security at the jail before Hyde offered him a job at the detention center as assistant director. He became interim director in April 2020, replacing Carma Gardner, before being appointed director.


Upcoming Events