A number of guards and an administrator at Hawaii's state youth prison have been accused of taunting, harassing and unfairly punishing one transgender and two homosexual inmates last month.
A suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the inmates, also alleges that state officials knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it.
The case comes less than a month after a U.S. Justice Department report criticised the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, saying training for guards is deficient and abuse often goes unreported and uninvestigated.
The 62-page suit chronicles several alleged incidents of abuse involving the youths.