SOUTH PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s corrections commissioner says the administrator of the state’s youth correctional facility resigned over the weekend, after he was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Jeffrey Merrill, who headed the day-to-day operations at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, had been placed on leave last Wednesday. Merrill says he’s stepping down for personal reasons.
Corrections Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick had declined to discuss the investigation. He now says it has been discontinued. Colin O’Neill will serve as interim head until a permanent replacement is named.
Merrill’s resignation comes weeks after three of the facility’s inmates tried to escape during a camping trip.
In October, a 16-year-old transgender boy killed himself while detained at Long Creek. The state attorney general deemed the death not suspicious.
Long Creek Youth Development Center on Westbrook Street in South Portland.
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