A new lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that the largest housing provider for unaccompanied minors who illegally cross into the United States has been a hub of child sexual abuse since at least 2015.

“Employees have subjected unaccompanied children in their care to repeated and unwelcome sexual abuse, harassment, and misconduct and a hostile housing environment, including severe sexual abuse and rape, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for sexually inappropriate relationships, sexual comments and gestures, leering, and inappropriate touching,” said the DOJ in its lawsuit.

The DOJ has accused Southwest Key Programs of being aware of the pervasive sexual abuse among its employees, including supervisors, and failing to take action to prevent it.

With a capacity to house 6,350 children, Southwest Key is the largest provider of housing for unaccompanied minors in the country and has received roughly $3 billion in government contracts since 2015, when the abuse allegedly began.

According to the non-profit’s most recent Form 990 filing, Southwest Key received $765,698,713 in government grants in 2022 alone.

According to internal Southwest Key documents mentioned in the DOJ lawsuit, in 2022, an employee repeatedly sexually abused three young children: a five-year-old, an eight-year-old, and an 11-year-old at the company’s El Paso, Texas location.

The man reportedly threatened to murder the children’s families if they spoke about the abuse.

In another recorded instance, a shift supervisor repeatedly raped and threatened a teenage girl, who later testified that she believed other employees were covering for him because they consistently switched shifts so that he could spend more time alone with her.

The lawsuit specifically mentions 14 employees who sexually abused children at the shelters and claims that, in some cases, other employees were aware of the sexual abuse and did nothing.

In many of these cases, the abusers threatened to physically harm the victims if they informed anyone of the abuse.

The DOJ also accused Southwest Key of consistently ignoring policies meant to prevent sexual abuse, such as a policy requiring that when checking on children in their bedrooms, where there are no cameras, two adults must be present.

Instances of sexual abuse were reported at the majority of the organization’s 29 currently operational shelters.

Despite the enormity of the alleged crimes, the DOJ’s lawsuit focuses on housing discrimination on the basis of sex rather than punishing those involved for facilitating numerous instances of child rape, suggesting that the DOJ believes discrimination to be a more serious crime.

While Southwest Key is facing numerous child sexual abuse allegations, the company continues to promote free summer camps for children.