Child Sexual Abuse Victims To Receive Unprecedented $4B Settlement From LA County

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County on Friday reached an unprecedented $4 billion settlement to resolve nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile and foster care facilities dating back decades.

It's a burden that taxpayers will be carrying for years and an extraordinary acknowledgement of systematic, heinous abuse by the very institutions designated with the care of the county's most vulnerable youth. It's also the latest of many years of settlements blowing holes in the county budget.

"On behalf of the county, I apologize wholeheartedly to everyone who was harmed by these reprehensible acts," county CEO Fesia Davenport said. "The historic scope of this settlement makes clear that we are committed to helping the survivors recover and rebuild their lives -- and to making and enforcing the systemic changes needed to keep young people safe."

More than 6,800 claims dating back to 1959 were filed against the county. Under the Child Victims Act, the statute of limitations for filing claims has been extending to allow victims to abusers accountable for crimes committed decades ago. Many of the claims alleged that the plaintiffs were sexually abused and in some cases tortured while housed at county probation halls and camps.

Attorneys contended that victims were abused and threatened with additional detention time if they did not comply. The complaints also contended that county supervisors were informed about the illegal activity but took no action to stop it, and instead "created an environment that harbored serial abusers to maintain a facade of normalcy and facility funding."

The majority of claims included in the settlement involve alleged abuse that occurred in county Probation Department juvenile facilities, most notably the MacLaren Children's Center in El Monte, which was closed in 2003. County officials called it "the costliest financial settlement in the history of L.A. County" and said it "will have a significant impact on the county's budget for years to come."

One man said he was sexually abused by a physician at the facility when he was 8 years old, while another said he was assaulted by a male staff member in a bathroom when he was 5. Children were routinely placed in solitary confinement, drugged and restrained in chairs at the facility, according to court papers filed by plaintiffs.

“It is bittersweet for the survivors, because nothing is ever going to take away what was done to them, and how badly their lives were altered and how much they have suffered,” said Adam Slater, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. “However, the settlement hopefully gives them some measure of justice and provides them with some measure of closure.”

The agreement, which still needs approval from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, would be the largest of its kind and have long-lasting financial effects for the county, officials said.

The cost of the settlement will be borne through a combination of reserve funds, bonds and cuts in department budgets. Davenport has warned over the past two years that pending legal claims posed a major threat to the county's financial picture.

"The financing will require annual payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars through 2030 and substantial continuing annual payments through fiscal year 2050-51," according to a statement from the county.

The county Claims Board is set to consider the settlement Monday, and the Board of Supervisors will review it on April 29.

Attorneys representing many of the claimants issued a statement saying the settlement -- which will also need court approval -- "aims to deliver long-overdue accountability, puts safeguards in place to prevent such failures in the future and ensures the county's financial stability through a five-year distribution plan that includes structured payouts with oversight to manage financial exposure while prioritizing victim compensation."

"This landmark settlement represents restorative justice for victims. Restorative justice is a societal recognition that a horrible wrong has been committed and compensation is justified," co-lead attorney Patrick McNicholas said in a statement. "It stands as a testament to the resilience of survivors, the importance of holding institutions accountable and the power of collaboration in driving meaningful change. 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."

Plaintiffs' attorneys said the challenge in reaching such an unprecedented settlement was finding a way to structure the payout so it would not lead the county into bankruptcy.

"By structuring the settlement payouts over five years, Los Angeles County has ensured that justice is served in a way that remains fiscally responsible," co-lead plaintiffs' attorney Todd Becker said in a statement. "This approach provides survivors with the compensation they deserve while allowing the county to maintain control, manage its financial exposure and meet clear benchmarks along a well-defined timeline. The settlement also includes critical accountability measures, such as enhanced staff training and stronger oversight, to prevent such failures in the future, reinforcing the county's commitment to meaningful reform."

Disclosure of the massive tentative payout comes at a time when the nation’s largest county — home to about 10 million residents — is facing a tightening bind of financial obligations on its $49 billion annual budget. County officials fear hundreds of millions of dollars for public services could vanish in Trump administration cutbacks, while the county has seen additional costs from January’s historic wildfires as it also deals with an ongoing homeless crisis.

The agreement by Los Angeles County would surpass the Boy Scouts of America’s 2022 settlement for $2.6 billion with more than 80,000 men who said they were molested as children by Scout leaders and others. At the time, that was considered the largest aggregate sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history.

Last year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $800 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse, bringing the total payout to more than $1.5 billion.

County officials said numerous operational changes have been made in recent years to address the issue of sexual abuse in probation facilities, and others are being developed.

Additional proposed measures include:

• creating a Countywide Hotline for reporting child sexual abuse allegations against county employees;
• developing a system for expedited investigations and independent review by outside experts;
• enhancing the county's Zero Tolerance policy to ensure that when allegations of child sexual abuse committed by an employee are substantiated, the county takes "immediate action to the fullest extent allowed by law, including but not limited to termination and referral to law enforcement"; and
• requiring county departments to provide notice to new employees and applicants of the Zero Tolerance policy and intent to discipline to the fullest extent allowed by law.

“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,” McNicholas, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said in a statement.

City News Service, The Associated Press and Patch Staffer Paige Austin