BATON ROUGE - Governor Landry tabbed Kenneth Loftin, the longtime leader of the Ware Youth Center in north Louisiana, to oversee the state's juvenile justice system. During his tenure, staff members were accused of sexual abuse, violence and psychological torture.

Loftin called the accusations "flat-out lies" and said the incidents never happened.

Once the decision was made, Senate President Pro Tem Regina Barrow said she did some digging of her own, because the safety of these children are at the upmost importance.

Loftin ran Ware Youth Center in Coushatta from its opening in 1993 to 2015 and again from 2021 to 2022. During that time, there were 42 cases of sexual abuse by staff members. Barrow believes no matter how the child got in that position, it's their job to ensure these children are safe in the state's care.

While the allegations weren't directly linked to Loftin, Barrow is adamant that Loftin should have been aware of the actions taking place at the facility, and putting him in a position to be in charge of every juvenile center in Louisiana is very concerning to her.

"Many of my colleagues are very concerned about the well being of our children. It's not just me," Barrow said. "Many of them are very concerned about what happens to our kids next, and they know that we have that responsibility."

With the governor's office pushing for Loftin's confirmation, Barrow plans to have records related to Ware unsealed so senators can get a better judge what actually happened and how much of that information was truly known by Loftin at the time.

The senate has not scheduled when they plan to vote on Loftin's confirmation.