State officials found a Department of Youth Services facility in "full compliance" shortly before it was shut down, a contractor said today as eight former staff members were arraigned for "ritualistic" abuse of the troubled teens in their care.

"It is hard for us to imagine that this could have been occurring given the rigorous oversight by experienced and dedicated caregivers at Casa Isla," the nonprofit Officials at Volunteers of America said in a statement. "But it is our collective duty to find out what happened and we hope that every step will be taken to ascertain the truth in this matter."

DYS officials conducted a review of the program shortly before the allegations surfaced last August, including of its security cameras and protocols, and "found it to be in full compliance," the statement said.

Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Gloriann Moroney told Suffolk Clerk Magistrate Anne Kaczmarek this morning the defendants, who worked for Volunteers of America, engaged in "ritualistic instances of physical abuse" of youth.

The eight suspects are being arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on indictments charging them with assaulting the teens in their care as punishment for bad behavior, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley's office.

The punishment was called the "Orange Chicken" within the Casa Isla facility on Long Island, according to authorities. Kids would have their pants pulled down and would be spanked on their bare buttocks with DYS-issued orange sandals, Moroney said.

Moroney said teens would be beaten for acting out, for returning to Casa Isla if they'd been discharged and were back, and on the eve of their release "as a reminder not to return."

She said both victims and witnesses "were threatened with physical harm" if they told anyone what was going on.

In a statement, DYS officials said they terminated their contract with Volunteers of America after receiving a "verbal report of physical abuse" last August at the 15-bed facility the nonprofit had operated for 20 years.

They removed the 15 youths and notified the Department of Children and Families, as well as law enforcement. Two DYS employees who worked for the program part-time were also fired, according to spokeswoman Rhonda Mann.

The contract was terminated on Sept. 5, roughly three weeks after DYS stopped intake at the Long Island program and a week after it removed the remaining youths following an "internal investigation."

"We are deeply troubled by this incident," Mann said. "DYS is committed to ensuring a safe, respectful environment for youth in its custody. DYS conducts regular and unannounced visits to all of its programs to monitor the quality of the residential environment and the treatment of youth in our care."

Mann said the agency stepped up its "monitoring visits and program reviews to ensure that we are providing quality services, and that youth are being treated in a safe and respectful manner."

DYS serves thousands of young people committed as juvenile delinquents or youthful offenders, and operates 58 secure and residential programs, 39 of which are run by nonprofit contractors, according to state officials.

"As the juvenile justice agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Department of Youth Services promotes positive change in the youth in our care and custody," the department says on its website. "Our mission is to make communities safer by improving the life outcomes for youth in our care. We achieve our mission through investing in highly qualified staff and a service continuum that engages youth, families and communities in strategies that support positive youth development. … We are unwavering and persistent in the pursuit of the positive development of youth in our care."

Volunteers for America still operates two state residential services for adults — one for men and one for women — under the Department of Public Health. It also runs an outpatient mental health clinic licensed by DPH, state health officials said.

"DPH conducted a review of its contracts with VOA after the allegations in the DYS program and identified no areas of concern," Mann, the state spokeswoman, said.

Volunteers for America said it is cooperating with authorities, including turning over more than 2,300 hours of security footage.

One defendant, Jalise Andrade, who now works rehabilitating adults, pleaded not guilty this morning in Suffolk Superior Court to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, witness intimidation and making threats.

Kaczmarek released Andrade – the father of an 8-year-old boy, according to his lawyer – on personal recognizance. He is to stay away from all DYS facilities and do no work with children under 18.

A second ex-worker, Hermano Joseph, 24, pleaded not guilty to charges including indecent assault and battery on a child, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, witness intimidation and making threats.

Those remaining to be arraigned today on assault charges have been identified as Silvio Depina, Ainsley Laroche, Raymond Pizzaro, Joseph Cintolo and Wilkins Jeanty.