Former Vista Maria residents describe grooming by male staff
Amani and Monay said inappropriate “grooming” began early and often when they lived at Vista Maria, the all-girls treatment center in Dearborn Heights.
They were both 16 at the time. Amani was there from 2016-2017, Monay from 2019-2020.
On the recent edition of the “More Than Just Luck” podcast, they described conversations with two male staff members.
“You shouldn’t be telling residents that they’re pretty,” Amani said. “Like, as a man, you’re in a facility full of girls, you’re supposed to treat them as a family but you’re not supposed to overdo it. You’re still growing. You shouldn’t be saying those things.
“He shouldn’t be telling the kids, you’re attractive,” Monay said.
“Exactly,” Amani said.
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“What’s the worst thing Mr. Downey did to you?” Wier said.
“He texted me,” Monay said. “I just felt offended. He was like, ‘Didn’t you have a crush on me?’ Why would I have a crush on you, a grown-ass man. Like I don’t understand. That’s the worst thing he did to me. He texted me.”
“On June 18, 2020, Mr. Lewis asked you to send him a nice pic or video,” Wier said. “He said, ‘I know you got some on your phone. Exclusive.’ How old were you there?
“I was 17,” Monay said.
“He wants an exclusive video,” Wier said. “He wants to see you naked, it sounds like. He goes on to say, ‘He’s good, how are you doing, when are you going to get your own place, when are you going to invite (me) over.’ I don’t think he wanted dinner.”
“He probably wanted me for dinner,” Monay said.
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Amani said she felt “humiliated” after a fight with a roommate and Monay said conversations were “swept under the rug.”
“My boobs came out during the fight and they didn’t try and cover me or anything like that, cover my body,” Monay said.
“They took me to my room like that. I had my hands behind my back, like this. Everyone saw my boobs, including the staff.”
“Was it normal for residents to have relationships with staff? Wier said.
“Yes,” Amani said.
“And Mr. Downey and Mr. Lewis were the two main male staff,” Monay said.
“For sure,” Amani said.
“How did they get away with that,” Wier said. “Did people know about it?”
“Oh yeah, it was probably just swept under the rug,” Monay said. “We were probably the only two girls, who were Black, who were going to come out and talk about it.
“Just to be fair, I feel in the Black community, it’s really swept under the rug. We need to heal that part of our generation.”
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