Attorneys representing more than 200 women who say they were sexually abused while they were in LA County juvenile custody are calling for a federal investigation.
Even after a record-setting $4 billion settlement in April for sexual abuse claims made by more than 6,800 victims, attorneys Courtney Thom and John Manly said Tuesday that no one has been indicted in connection with any sexual abuse claims.
“Not one of those current or former LA County probation department officers have been prosecuted, not one has been arrested,” Thom said. “Without a full investigation about what happened, how can anyone, including the Board of Supervisors who’s tasked with maintaining a safe environment for its citizens, how can anyone assure this won’t happen again?
The demand for action comes about two weeks after California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced in July that the juvenile system had been placed in receivership due to what he called a “public safety crisis.”
Since a 2021 settlement agreement to monitor county juvenile facilities, Bonta claimed the county failed to comply with court judgments and orders regarding management of the system’s locations.
The attorneys sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli Tuesday, detailing their request for a federal investigation.
The attorneys allege the sexual abuse occurred at “boot camps,” which were run by the Department of Probation, separate from the juvenile halls. Hundreds of girls who committed minor offenses from ages 12 to 17 were sent to the camps by their families or by juvenile court, they said.
The Office of County Counsel said in a statement that records are no longer available in many cases due to statutory requirements because the childhood sexual abuse claims span decades.
The counsel added that, in the vast majority of claims, plaintiffs’ attorneys “have not produced evidence enabling the County to identify perpetrators,” but they “wholeheartedly” support efforts to ensure those who have committed crimes against minors are “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Led by our Board of Supervisors, we will continue working to reform systems to safeguard young people in our care and doing everything in our power to ensure that victims get the justice they deserve,” the counsel said in a statement.
NBC4 contacted a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, who declined to comment. The Probation Department has not responded to NBC4’s request for comment.
Kathryn Barger, the chair of the County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement that she will support the process if the U.S. Attorney determines a federal investigation is warranted.
“Survivors deserve the truth—and a clear signal that such harm will never be tolerated again,” Barger said.
Attorney John Manly said that the purpose of the request is to bring criminal charges federally, if possible, but added that residents and survivors of the abuse also deserve to know who is responsible.
“The people of the state, and the people of our country and especially the survivors deserve to know how this happened,” Manly said.