2007 Lexus ES 350 $37,067 By Jon MurrayThe first of nine former Marion County Juvenile Detention Center workers accused of sexual misconduct with underage female detainees was convicted Friday.

Anthony Tyler, 33, a former guard, pleaded guilty in Marion Superior Court to two counts of official misconduct and admitted only to passing notes hinting at an inappropriate relationship. Other former workers -- some facing more serious charges -- have trials scheduled to begin over the next three months.Their arrests in April came with accusations of sexual abuse, love letters, gifts and promises of early release given to six girls, ages 13 to 15. A five-month investigation found infractions between 2000 and July 2005.The center's superintendent, Damon Ellison, 57, also was arrested in April and was accused of concealing evidence and failing to report a molestation allegation dating to 2000.Other problems followed:• Audits from the National Partnership for Juvenile Services and the Indiana Department of Correction found unsafe conditions for staff and detainees, high employee turnover and other problems.• Another guard was arrested in June two blocks from the center and charged with possession of illegal drugs. Background checks found criminal records for one-fourth of the staff supervising residents.• An investigation is planned by the U.S. Department of Justice to probe possible violations of detainees' civil rights.• Earlier this month, Marion County court officials retracted a job offer to recently hired Superintendent Troy Hoppes after The Indianapolis Star reported his master's degree came from a diploma mill.A nationwide search is under way for another superintendent, and officials have said many of the problems have been fixed or are being addressed. Among the initiatives: a plan to install more security cameras, a hotline for detainees to air grievances and the firing of workers who didn't meet standards.Employees also now face random drug testing.The center has 144 beds for youths ages 7 to 17. On on a typical day, 18 to 30 girls are detained.In Tyler's case, prosecutors agreed to drop two other charges -- sexual misconduct with a minor and child solicitation -- as part of the plea agreement. After the hearing, Tyler declined to comment.His sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 3. The maximum sentence is three years, but Maureen Devlin, chief of the Marion County prosecutor's sex crimes division, said the plea agreement caps jail time at one year plus probation.Tyler's notes to a detainee "showed there had been a relationship developing that was inappropriate," Devlin said. "Even the passing of the notes, as it is, was inappropriate."When the men were arrested on a combined 52 charges, Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said some of the sexual acts took place outside the facility once the girls had been released. Those charged included eight guards, called youth managers, and a control booth operator.Brizzi linked their behavior with a lax atmosphere fostered by Ellison.Grand jury investigators found a tape in the former superintendent's desk of a 13-year-old girl's allegation of sexual molestation at the center. The tape never was given to authorities, prosecutors said.Ellison's trial is scheduled Dec. 4. Roger Rayl, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said Tyler's plea agreement did not require him to testify against other former workers.

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