Third ex-employee arrested in widening teen sex abuse scandal in Kearney

(Editor’s note: This story contains allegations of sexual abuse of children. If you suspect that a child has been abused, call 800-652-1999 or report online.)

A third former employee at the youth detention center in Kearney has been arrested on charges she sexually abused a teen in the state’s care.

Tarah Ross, 23, was arrested Thursday on one charge of second-degree sexual abuse of a protected individual, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and $10,000 fine. 

The abuse allegedly occurred at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney, run by the state Department of Health and Human Services. It’s one of the last resorts for teen boys in the state’s juvenile justice system, and the site of sexual abuse allegations involving at least 10 of those boys last year. 

According to the warrant for her arrest, Ross allegedly subjected a then-16-year-old boy at the center to sexual contact between Jan. 27 and April 20 of last year — that’s also the date she stopped working at DHHS, according to spokesperson Jeff Powell. 

Allegations against Ross were previously detailed in juvenile court proceedings last fall.

According to court documents, YRTC staff found a note with a sexually explicit conversation between Ross and a Douglas County teen in April 2025. The teen told staff he and Ross were a “thing” and that she had touched his penis on the outside of his clothing and “more than just touching” had happened between them, according to the document. Video surveillance also showed the youth inappropriately touching Ross while she smiled at him.

Staff failed to report the abuse directly to law enforcement or mention it in monthly reports to the court, wrote Judge Amy Schuchman. Instead, the teen faced consequences for touching Ross. 

“The concern for the Court is not solely that the abuse happened, but the systematic minimization, concealment and disregard by those in charge of his care,” Schuchman wrote in ordering his early release from the center last fall.

Two other former employees, Katrina Fewkes and Martha Ruiz Palacios, face similar charges in Buffalo County related to sexual abuse allegations. Ruiz Palacios left the department in August, and Fewkes, who had been suspended, is no longer employed there, according to DHHS.

A fourth former employee has been named in juvenile court but has not been charged. Douglas County Public Defender Tom Riley told Flatwater earlier this year that his office has reason to believe six staff members were potentially involved in inappropriate contact with teens.

An independent investigation into the spate of allegations, by the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare, is ongoing and so far confidential.

Records show DHHS internally determined by Oct. 21 last year that there was not a systemic problem, as Flatwater previously reported. However, in March, the agency fired the Kearney facility’s top administrator. Rich Williams, previously a program manager at its youth center in Hastings, has been serving in that role on an interim basis.

The department has made structural changes, as well.

“To provide additional leadership, accountability and support, DHHS has also reorganized the leadership structure and now there is one administrator whose sole responsibility is to oversee and supervise the individual YRTC facility administrators and the YRTC system as a whole,” Powell said. 

Mark LaBouchardiere, who previously oversaw YRTCs and the two DHHS-run psychiatric hospitals, is now focused on only the youth centers. A new administrator, who Powell did not name, oversees the hospitals.