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Katie
and Gemma had all their own clothes taken away
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Two British
girls were sent to an orphanage for 30 hours and strip searched
after their mother became ill during a holiday in the US.
Gemma Bray, 15, and her 13-year-old sister
Katie also had their clothes taken off them and were asked if
they had been abused or were suicidal.
Their mother Yvonne Bray of Appledore, Devon,
says their human rights were infringed by the authorities.
She was hospitalised with pneumonia during a
trip to New York.
The Administration for Children's Services in
New York has declined to comment on the matter.
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I'm not guilty of anything other than getting ill in a
country without family or friends 
Yvonne Bray
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"What should have been
the trip of a lifetime turned out to be a complete disaster
from start to finish," Ms Bray told BBC News.
"I was going to give the girls money for
their Christmas, but with the exchange rate being so good, I
decided to book the trip to New York.
"This was their Christmas present and it
was totally ruined."
The family flew out to New York on 27 December.
When Ms Bray began coughing later that day, she initially put
it down to her asthma and the air conditioning on the flight.
The following night, she became more unwell
with laboured breathing and was admitted to the Queen's Medical
Centre in Harlem.
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Yvonne
Bray said she had now received a letter from social workers
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But Ms Bray was told her
daughters could not stay with her at the hospital as they were
minors.
"A doctor told me they would make the
arrangements, then a few hours later a social worker arrived
and said they'd try to find a foster family for the girls,"
she said.
"Instead of that they were taken to a
orphanage and subjected to the kind of treatment you wouldn't
even expect criminals to go through."
The frightened teenagers had their clothes,
including their underwear, removed and were issued with a
uniform of T-shirt and jeans before being spilt up and given a
medical examination.
"Being away from Mum when you are alone in
New York in an strange place with people you don't know - it's
just scary," said Katie.
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You didn't know how long you'd be there or if Mum would
get better
Katie Bray
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"At first it was so
shocking - it was as if it wasn't happening but then it hits
you.
"You didn't know how long you'd be there
or if Mum would get better."
Photographs were taken and the girls were told
they would not be allowed to visit their mother in hospital.
When the duty social worker told Ms Bray her
daughters could not leave the orphanage, she discharged herself
from the hospital against medical advice.
She said: "I was so cross. I didn't sign
anything saying they could be examined or interrogated - they
even asked them if they had been raped.
"They had to shower in front of strangers.
What they went through would be a breach of anyone's human
rights, let alone two girls on holiday."
'It's disgraceful'
Ms Bray has now received a letter from the
Administration for Children's Services (ACS) to say she is now
being investigated.
"It's disgraceful, but I'm trying to
totally dismiss this," Ms Bray said.
"It seems like a standard letter because
the children have been entered into the child care system.
"I'm not guilty of anything other than
getting ill in a country without family or friends."
A spokeswoman from ACS told BBC News it was an
"entirely confidential matter" and the department
would not comment.
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