LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A former youth detention officer in northeastern Arkansas has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for what a judge called “sadistic and completely unjustified” actions in punishing disorderly juveniles.
This comes nearly two years after Peggy Kendrick admitted to violating the civil rights of teens at the White River Regional Juvenile Detention Facility in Batesville by pepper-spraying them for minor violations and then “letting them cook” with the irritant on their skin in locked cells. She also ordered subordinate jailers to follow suit.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. on Thursday sentenced the 43-year-old to 13 more months than the highest penalty due to the severity of her actions.
The facility holds up to 75 youths between the ages of 5 and 21.
