Norwich — The cases of five 12- and 13-year-olds charged with setting fire to two vacant downtown buildings in late October will be heard in juvenile court, and given the state's trend away from institutionalization of children, the five will likely continue to live in the community while receiving state supervision and services, according to those who work with young people.

Tariko Satterfield, a former teacher at Norwich's Kelly Middle School, worries what will become of these kids and others whose interests are not channeled in a more positive direction. Satterfield, who with his wife, Faith Satterfield, offers youth programs including a performance art camp and speed/agility training for athletes, says there are limited opportunities for the city's youth, particularly those who live downtown, to pursue their interests outside of school.

"If kids don't have things to engage themselves in, then basically what we are telling them is to go ahead and get in trouble, go ahead and make your own way," he said in a phone interview. "We're living in a different time. We have to take some responsibility as a community and quit pointing the finger and saying their parents aren't doing it. Does that kid that didn't ask to be born have to suffer?"

Satterfield, like other city residents, regrets the closing in 2009 of the YMCA building at 337 Main St. Ironically, that was one of the two unoccupied downtown buildings the youths are accused of setting on fire. Four boys allegedly gained entry through the back of the building and played on the basketball court before lighting a fire on the second floor using papers and other materials.

"That's a huge statement if kids are sneaking into a facility to play basketball," said Satterfield.  

The fire, reported at 5:44 p.m. on a Monday in a second-floor area formerly used as office and day care center, caused smoke, heat and water damage throughout the second floor. One firefighter cut his hand and fingers and another suffered a leg injury. A deputy fire marshal determined the fire had been intentionally set, but a dog that was brought to the scene to detect an accelerant was not used because of the presence of asbestos.

The building is privately owned by the YMCA of Southeastern Conn. Inc., a now-defunct organization that owes the city more than $600,000 in back taxes.

The previous day, Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m., police say two of the same boys, along with one other, are accused of breaking into what officials thought was the tightly secured SMS Textile Complex at 132 Franklin St. and lighting a fire. Firefighters contained the blaze before it spread and nobody was injured, but the incident had potential to turn tragic.

Investigators used footage from downtown surveillance cameras to help identify the participants. 

Detective Sgt. Peter Camp said he could not speak specifically about the case due to the age of the accused participants but that the department is urging parents to warn their children that it is not safe to go into unoccupied buildings due, in part, to the presence of harmful materials.

"We've noticed kids may not have a lot to do and go exploring," Camp said. "These mills can be attractive nuisances for them."

The accused fire setters are too young to be tried in adult court, where they could be sentenced to years in prison if convicted of arson, burglary and criminal mischief charges. Because of their ages, Norwich police did not release their names after serving them with juvenile court summonses, and the eventual outcome of their court cases will be sealed from the public.

Children under 16 who are charged with serious crimes can be detained, while their cases are pending, in facilities operated by the state Judicial Branch in Bridgeport and Hartford, but the number of children detained has declined as juvenile laws have evolved. If a juvenile judge commits them as delinquent, or finds them guilty, they become wards of the state Department of Children and Families.

"A larger percentage of kids who are committed deliquent (by a judge) are living at home," said Gary Kleeblatt, a spokesman for the Department of Children and Families. 

The DCF is moving away from locked facilities for juveniles and is targeting a closing date of July 2018 for its juvenile jail, the Connecticut Juvenile Training Center in Middletown. The state also is reducing or eliminating funding for group homes and residential treatment centers like the New England Adolescent Treatment Center in Groton, which its executive director, Tom Schuch, said is quietly shutting down after harboring troubled boys for the past four decades.

Back in Norwich, Satterfield and others would like to somehow revive the privately owned YMCA, which was the site of the city's only public swimming pools before it closed under financial pressure in 2009. Basketball courts are busy in parks scattered throughout the city, but are not an option during cold and snowy weather. The city has a skate park on Mahan Drive, but there is no bus line to it for kids who live downtown, he said. And schools generally are not open to children after hours, he said.

Over the years, committees have discussed plans to renovate the YMCA building or open a community center elsewhere.

"What kind of statement are you making to kids when there is nothing for them to do?" Satterfield said. "We get so caught up in the politics of the city that we are literally causing our buildings to cave in."

k.florin@theday.com