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A Tucson teenager has filed a $1 million claim against the state of Arizona alleging a female prison guard not only seduced him when he was locked up at a juvenile correctional facility, but rented an apartment for them so they could continue to have sex once he was released.

The guard, Amy Lynn Barker, pleaded guilty last month to solicitation of unlawful sexual conduct and is scheduled to be sentenced May 1 in Pima County Superior Court.

The claim, filed by Tucson attorney Michael Bloom, also alleges Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections officials knew about the allegations and failed to report them to police for at least a year.

"This kid has had a tough time his whole life and this only made things worse," Bloom said. "I think the conduct of the Juvenile Department of Corrections in this case was absolutely appalling at every step of the process."

Nancy Molever, a Juvenile Department of Corrections spokeswoman, said Tuesday the office can't comment on pending cases.

However, a statement from director Michael Branham said, "When someone has inappropriate relations with our youth we want them to go to jail."

According to the claim, the boy was 15 years old when Barker began working at the Mesquite unit of the Catalina Mountain School in the fall of 2002.

The 21-year-old corrections officer ordered him to meet her at different places around the school and used her authority to force him to engage in sexual activity, the claim states.

In February 2003, the boy was released to the Open Inn Convent Halfway House and Barker began "stalking" him, the claim alleges, eventually convincing the boy, whom the Star is not identifying because he is a juvenile victim of a sex crime, to run away.

"At first, she purchased motel rooms for John Doe in cheap motels by the freeway," the claim states. "She put John Doe up for the night at those motels and engaged in sexual activity with John Doe."

In June 2003, Barker rented an apartment for herself and the boy where they continued having sex and where she gave him alcohol and marijuana, the claim states.

Although the boy wanted to turn himself in, Barker would cry and talk him out of it, the claim says.

The boy turned himself over to authorities in July 2003 and told officials about Barker's improper activities the following September, but no police report was made, the claim states.

"Moreover, the report ultimately prepared . . . slanted the statements made by John Doe, and constituted a de facto cover-up of these criminal offenses," the claim states.

The boy's allegations were reinvestigated in September 2004. Bloom referred questions about why the case was reopened to the Department of Juvenile Corrections, which did not respond to questions.

After the second investigation, the police were notified and Barker was indicted in February 2005 on two counts of sexual conduct with a minor under 18, which were reduced to a single count of solicitation of unlawful sexual conduct.

Barker, now 24, could get probation or up to 2.5 years in prison as part of her March 20 plea agreement.

Deputy Pima County Attorney Angela Woolridge said Barker won't have to register as a sex offender because the crimes occurred after the boy turned 15.

The plea agreement was discussed with the teenager and he approved it, Woolridge said.

Neither Barker nor her attorney, Ruben Teran, responded to repeated voice mail messages.

Bloom said his client was the victim of an older woman in a position of authority.

"I know there is a certain segment of the population who refuse to believe young men can be victims, but he is a victim," Bloom said. "He was the victim of a sexual offense, and there is no other way to look at it."

Arizona's juvenile corrections system came under scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department around the time the boy was staying at Catalina Mountain.

A yearlong investigation by the Justice Department found a lack of suicide prevention and mental-health care and uncovered sexual and physical abuse of inmates by correctional officers and fellow inmates.

To head off a federal lawsuit, the state agreed to improve procedures for reporting and responding to abuse allegations, improve staff training, increase staffing and implement suicide-prevention policies.

According to the boy's claim, "failure to insure that staff were available supervising at all times was directly responsible for Amy Barker's improper sexual liaisons with John Doe at the facility."

Juvenile court records show the boy, now 18, has a criminal history dating back to when he was 11. He was arrested on multiple domestic-violence charges in October 1999 and placed into the care of Arizona's Child Protective Services.

The charges were dropped after he completed a diversion program, but over the next several years he was in and out of various juvenile group homes for offenses including drugs, assault and criminal damage.

He was sent to Catalina Mountain in April 2002 after pleading guilty to attempted theft of means of transportation. According to court records, the boy had been charged with stealing a car and trying to sell it. He was also accused of having cocaine.

In October 2003, the boy and five others were accused of breaking into the office of the group home where they were staying, stealing $200 and threatening the employee who interrupted the burglary.

He pleaded guilty to attempted theft and was again sent to the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. His last contact with the juvenile system was in March 2005 when he was ordered to perform 15 hours of community service for possession of marijuana.