In TV Ad, Davis Says Abbott Didn't Investigate 2005 Sexual Abuse

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis unveiled a new ad on Monday, accusing Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott of not intervening in a lagging investigation into sexual abuse at a state juvenile detention center.

In 2005, two administrators at a state juvenile detention center were accused of sexually abusing more than 10 boys under their care. According to the ad, which sites the Houston Chronicle and the Associated Press, a Texas Ranger asked Abbott, the state attorney general, to investigate the case in 2006. 

One year later, the Houston Chronicle reported that a grand jury had convened to investigate the allegations that two top administrators at the center would routinely sexually abuse boys. One of the administrators was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and the other was acquitted several years later.

While Abbott eventually opened an investigation, he was criticized in 2007 by Republican state Sen. Chris Harris for not investigating sooner.