L.A. County pays out $4 billion to victims abused in juvenile services and foster properties – the biggest cost in U.S. historical past | EUROtoday

Los Angeles County has accredited a $4 billion settlement for almost 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile services and foster properties all through the world – the biggest of its form in U.S historical past.

The county board of supervisors voted Tuesday to settle lawsuits by 1000’s of people that stated they have been sexually abused whereas in foster care and juvenile detention services, the Associated Press experiences. Some circumstances date way back to 1959.

The settlement stems from a 2021 lawsuit towards the county. The lawsuit adopted a 2020 state regulation that waived the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse circumstances, permitting folks to return ahead inside a three-year window.

“While no amount of money can erase the horrors that they endured, this agreement acknowledges the profound harm inflicted on thousands of children over the course of decades,” Adam Slater, an legal professional for one of many plaintiffs, stated Tuesday.

The actual quantity every particular person will get can be decided and administered by an impartial professional group, the board stated. The county will probably be making funds till 2051.

This marks the biggest combination sexual abuse settlement in U.S. historical past, far surpassing the earlier record-holder: the $2.6 billion settlement reached with the Boy Scouts of America.

Many of the claims are tied to the MacLaren Children’s Center, a shelter that completely closed in 2003. Investigations into a few of these claims are ongoing, and two circumstances might even be prosecuted by the district legal professional.

Several abuse survivors spoke on the board’s public assembly Tuesday to recount their experiences, in line with LAist.

Scott Brougham, 64, stated he “went through hell” in a Los Angeles juvenile corridor starting when he was 14.

“If you want to know who the victims are, we’re still here,” Brougham stated. “And there should be accountability.”

“We were children, we were not a number, we were not a line item on a budget report,” a person who recognized himself as John Doe added. “We were children.”

L.A. County CEO Fesia Davenport has apologized to the survivors on behalf of the county.

“On behalf of the County, I apologize wholeheartedly to everyone who was harmed by these reprehensible acts,” Davenport stated in a press release earlier this month.

“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,” she added.