Source: dailyjournal.com 4/4/25
Los Angeles County reached a tentative $4 billion settlement with more than 6,800 childhood sexual abuse survivors in what will be the costliest settlement in the county’s history if approved, a news release on Friday announced.
“On behalf of the county, I apologize wholeheartedly to everyone who was harmed by these reprehensible acts,” County Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport said in the release. “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.”
The settlement will resolve the majority of claims brought by victims who alleged systemic sexual abuse at the MacLaren Children’s Center, formerly MacLaren Hall, and various Probation Department facilities dating back to 1959, the release said.
The lead case was filed in 2021 by attorneys with Taylor and Ring in Manhattan Beach under a 2020 amendment to the state’s Code of Civil Procedure waiving the statute of limitations and providing a three-year window to file childhood sexual abuse claims. Jane Doe 1 et al. v. County of Los Angeles, 21STCV20949 (L.A. Sup. Ct., filed June 3, 2021).
Most of the plaintiffs were represented by attorneys with McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, Becker Law Group, ACTS Law LLP, Boucher LLP and Slater Slater Schulman LLP, according to a news release distributed by plaintiffs'” counsel on Friday.
Slater founding partner Adam P. Slater in New York City, New York praised the settlement in a phone call on Friday.
“The historic settlement marks a fundamental acknowledgement by the County of Los Angeles for the profound harm it inflicted on thousands of former residents at county-operated juvenile detention facilities, and, of course, MacLaren Hall,” Slater said. “Victory is bittersweet, because these people will never be able to have normal lives, but what this settlement hopefully does for them is it gives them some measure of justice.”
Attorney Patrick McNicholas in Los Angeles said in the plaintiffs'” news release, “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.”
He added that the settlement ”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.”
The settlement funds will be dispersed through annual payments amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars through 2030, the county’s news release said. Payments of remaining funds will then be distributed via continuing annual payments through the fiscal year 2050-51.
“Victory is bittersweet, because these people will never be able to have normal lives, but what this settlement hopefully does for them is it gives them some measure of justice.”
While its good they get a settlement, who says they cant have normal lives? Its crazy you can be beaten, tortured, see people murdered in front of you, but you can move on with your life, but if a sex crime occurred, you’re ruined for life.
How many of the 6800 cases involved someone on the registry? I bet the answer is zero otherwise it would have blasted at the pressers. Maybe society should get rid of the stigma around sex and allow people to move forward without the help of the government, public, and the registry.