LEAGUE CITY, Texas – A 21-year-old mental health worker faces a slew of charges after being accused of sexually assaulting four children.
Marquis Bloom is being held at Galveston County Jail Thursday on two counts of sexual assault of a child, two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact.
Bloom was an employee at the Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Center at the time of the allegations.
Court documents reveal the first alleged incident happened in August. Bloom is accused of sexually assaulted a 16-year-old multiple times.
The victim told investigators Bloom threatened her if she spoke up and told her he would get people to beat her up. The teen eventually told another Devereux employee.
A 12-year-old girl told officials she was assaulted at the same facility in September. Court records detail how Bloom allegedly inappropriately touched her several times.
KPRC 2 reached out to the Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Center about the accusations and obtained this statement:
"Devereux respects the rule of law and will not comment specifically on the open and ongoing law enforcement investigation of this former employee, other than to sincerely thank the extraordinary League City Police Department for their outstanding work.
However, every single employee of Devereux, prior to being hired, is thoroughly screened through a series of state and federal background clearances which include:
- Texas criminal history check
- National criminal history check (FBI fingerprint based search that includes both state and FBI records)
- Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (TLETS) check
- Central Registry Check (a search of the DFPS Central Registry of reported cases of child abuse and neglect)
- DFPS history check
- Out-of-state abuse/neglect history check
- Out-of-state criminal history check
- Streamline – Office of Inspector General (OIG) for OIG Exclusion Screening
- Texas Sex Offender (Name Based)
- Motor Vehicle Registration (MVR) check
Once the prospective employee has cleared these screens, and prior to them ever working with any child in care, they complete more than 40 hours of classroom training, and subsequently complete an additional 40 hours of tenured employee shadowing. The classroom component of training includes:
- Corporate Compliance
- HIPAA Privacy & Security Rules
- Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness (Safety Plans, Fire Safety, Disaster Response, Hazard Communication and Work-Related Injuries
- Culture of Safety (Workplace Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Drug Free Workplace, and Violence in the Workplace)
- Driver Safety Guidelines
- Driving Skills Assessment
- Recognizing & Reporting Abuse & Neglect
- Recognizing & Reporting Child Sexual Abuse
- Recognizing and Preventing Peer to Peer Abuse
- Trauma Informed Care
- Age Specific Growth & Development
- Crisis Response Plan
- Cultural Diversity
- Safe & Positive Approaches for Preventing and Responding to Crisis Prevention/Intervention (Staff Effectiveness Training, Safety Training Techniques and Personal Emergency Interventions)
- Emergency Behavior Interventions
- American Red Cross: CPR/AED and First Aid in the Community (First Aid not required for licensed nurses)
- New Directions Social Learning Curriculum (Introduction, Building Positive Relationships, Praising Effectively, Making Requests that Work Listening to Understand, Observing, Counting & Reporting Behaviors, Routines & Transitions and Leading Activities)
- Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
- Activities Program Guidelines
- Strategic Supervision & Monitoring
- Introduction to Substance Abuse Disorders
- Food Safety
If, despite these very thorough clearances, training and supervision, an employee acts outside the scope of employment as well as Devereux’s standards of excellence and compassion – it is a crime, and it is reprehensible. Devereux will cooperate fully with law enforcement to assure that such conduct is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We consider our work to be a sacred trust.
For over 100 years, we have provided dedicated, compassionate, effective and safe nonprofit healthcare to children in need. One of our most closely held values is to provide the highest quality care, and to be transparent and accountable in that work at all times. As a nonprofit organization serving solely in the public interest, that is the expectation of our legion of supporters and partners, and it is the standard to which we hold ourselves every day.
Statement from Pam Reed, Executive Director"
Bloom is being held on a $560,000 bond.