Most allegations stem from incidents at the Probation Department Facility and McClallen Children’s Center in the 1980s and early 2000s.
Los Angeles County officials announced Friday a tentative $4 billion agreement to resolve roughly 6,800 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities dating back to 1959, marking the biggest settlement of its kind in US history.
The proposed settlement, which requires approval from both the LA County Board of Claims and Board of Supervisors, exceeded the record $2.6 billion payments of the US Boy Scouts of America in 2022.
“On behalf of the county, I sincerely apologize to everyone who harmed these condemnable conduct,” county chief executive Fesia Davenport announced Friday.
The claim was made possible through California law, which came into effect in 2020, temporarily suspending the law on restriction on victims of child abuse for three years.
Court documents filed by the plaintiffs explain the disturbing circumstances at McClallane. This involves children being placed in solitary cells, stuffed with drugs and being held in chairs. One plaintiff reported sexually abused by a doctor at age 8, but another said he was attacked by a bathroom staff member when he was only five years old.
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Adam Slater, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, said:
Settlement funds
The settlement comes in a challenging financial era for the country’s most populous counties, facing potential federal funding cuts and ongoing costs associated with the January wildfire and homeless initiative.
County officials will fund the settlement through reserves, judgment obligation bonds and divisional budget cuts as payments were extended from 2050 to 2051, the county said.
If approved, the independent team will determine the individual awards of the claimant. The Requests Committee will consider the proposal on April 7th, and the Supervisory Committee will review it on April 29th.
The settlement includes several reform measures, including creating a countywide hotline to report child sexual abuse allegations against county employees and developing a rapid investigation system.
“By balancing victims’ justice, this resolution ensures both acknowledgement of past mistakes and a path to a safer and accountable future,” said Patrick McNicholas, another lawyer representing the plaintiff.
The $4 billion settlement represents the latest in a series of major payments related to institutional sexual abuse. In addition to the Boy Scouts’ settlement, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $800 million last year to victims of clergy sexual abuse, bringing its total payments to more than $1.5 billion.
“Gladiator’s Battle”
The settlement manifests itself in an ongoing scrutiny of juvenile facilities in Los Angeles County. In another case, 30 probation officers were charged in March with multiple crimes, including child abuse and danger, following an investigation into “youth violence” at Los Padrinos Juvenir Hall in Downey, as reported by the City News Service.
According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, these officers are said to have facilitated a “greater fight” among detainees from July to December 2023.
“The officers look like judges in the awards fight,” Bonta said at a press conference in March. “They don’t intervene, intervene or protect their accusations… this was not an isolated incident.”
Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall has faced operational challenges since reopening in 2023 and housing detainees who have moved from other facilities that the state has closed. Despite not viewing it as inappropriate by the State Affairs Commission and community amendments in October 2024, the county continues to operate its facilities without viable alternatives.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
