A federal judge ruled yesterday that three wards of the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility have standing to sue the state over allegations they were physically and emotionally abused by guards because of their sexual orientation.

The state argued that the wards should not be able to sue because all three were on parole when the suit was filed in September and none of the teenagers now lives at the Kailua facility. But U.S. District Court Judge Michael Seabright ruled yesterday that there is a likelihood the wards could return to the facility and he allowed the lawsuit to proceed. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i, which brought the suit on behalf of the wards, has asked for a preliminary injunction to stop the state from harassing gay or transgender wards at the facility. The ACLU has filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of all wards over poor conditions, including abuse by guards and overcrowding. The U.S. Department of Justice has also documented abuses at the facility and the state is in the process of responding.

Lois Perrin, the legal director of the ACLU of Hawai'i, said the judge's decision yesterday vindicated the teenagers' rights. "These children deserve more than this. Their families deserve more than this," Perrin said outside the courthouse.

John Molay, a deputy attorney general representing the state, said guards have denied they abused the wards. He said the facility has adopted a new policy prohibiting discrimination against wards because of their sexual orientation, one of several new policies since the ACLU's lawsuits and the Justice Department's report.

Molay said he is confident the state will prevail at the hearing. "We do not believe the rights of these plaintiffs were violated," he said.

Perrin said the new policy is largely meaningless because she said guards and staff have not been properly trained to deal with gay or transgender wards.

The wards in the lawsuit, described in court only by initials to protect their privacy, claim they were targeted by guards and staff at the facility because of their sexual orientation or perceptions about their sexual orientation. One of the wards is a lesbian, another is a male-to-female transgender, and the third is a boy who some on the facility's staff apparently believe is gay.

The boy and the transgender ward now live at home, according to Perrin, while the girl is considered a fugitive because she left the treatment program she was assigned to by the facility. The girl, who is 18, is facing possible criminal charges as an adult for escaping, and the state will likely ask that she be removed from the lawsuit if she does not appear at the court hearing next month.

A registered nurse practitioner at the facility told state lawmakers at an informational briefing this month that guards repeatedly subjected the girl and her partner to insults. The nurse said the girls were told that being gay is bad and that they would go to hell for their behavior.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.