Los Angeles County reached a $4 billion settlement to address almost 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in its juvenile facilities.
This agreement will be the largest settlement in the county’s history. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against LA County in 2022, alleging that they suffered sexual assault and other types of abuse while being housed in various facilities.
California passed a law that took effect in 2020, suspending the statute of limitations for child abuse claims for three years. Similar laws have been passed in states like New York and others.
From The Associated Press:
The proposed agreement includes creating a countywide hotline for reporting child sexual abuse allegations against county employees and developing a system to expedite investigations, county officials said.
“This landmark settlement represents restorative justice for victims,” Patrick McNicholas, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “By balancing justice for the victims with a commitment to reform, this resolution ensures both acknowledgment of past wrongs and a pathway to a safer, more accountable future.”
Children as young as five experienced brutal sexual assault at the hands of staff at juvenile facilities and foster homes, The Associated Press reported.
A Los Angeles County-run shelter meant to be a safe space for children as they awaited placement in foster homes was for decades a den for sexual predators among the staff — and some residents — who preyed on children as young as 5, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by dozens of former residents.
Some of the more than 30 plaintiffs spoke at a news conference and wept and trembled as they detailed abuse and some victims’ attempts to escape the hall’s barbed-wire fences and guarded gates. Among the victims was a 6-year-old boy who in 1990 was molested by a male staffer who locked the boy in a closet as punishment for screaming during the assault, according to the lawsuit.
The New York Times published a report on Monday chronicling the stories of three plaintiffs who were sexually abused in the county’s foster care and juvenile detention systems. The majority of the lawsuits named the MacLaren Children’s Center, a county-run facility that closed down in 2003 due to the barrage of allegations of sexual abuse and other malfeasance.
MaryAlice Ashbrook, Shirley Bodkin, and J.C. Wright told The New York Times about the decades of trauma they suffered after facing sexual abuse at the facility. “I just – wanted them – to stop it,” Wright said.
He recalled how employees at the facility dismissed him when he told them he was being abused. They tell you you’re lying. Or you need attention,” he said. “Still, to this day, I can’t go to the dentist without my wife holding my hand,” he added.
Bodkin said, “What I experienced was pure hell. No child should have to experience what I did.”
The abuse described by survivors was horrific and systematic. Bodkin said, “What I experienced was pure hell. No child should have to experience what I did.”
The county says it has implemented several policy reforms, including comprehensive background checks. It referred at least two cases to prosecutors for potential indictments.
Lawyer Adam Slater, who represented over 3,500 plaintiffs, said, “This settlement is proof that the law works.”