Sexual Abuse Complaints – LA County Juvenile Facilities
Sexual abuse complaints, allegations at LA County Camp Community Placement facilities. Not all kids have perfect behavior. Many children have various disciplinary or other challenges that result in court disciplinary actions. When a court finds a juvenile responsible, the judge has to give the child a punishment. For first offenders, this often means the child will be put on probation and remanded back to their parents. For those who have committed more serious offenses, the judge may require the youth to be placed in a Department of Juvenile Justice facility. Camp Community Placement (CCP) requires a juvenile offender to stay at a probation camp.
What is Camp Community Placement?
Camp Community Placement (CCP) is a detention center for juveniles. When a child receives a disposition for CCP from a Juvenile Delinquency Court, the youth will undergo testing and health checks and a risk assessment to determine whether CCP is appropriate. Los Angeles County operates 19 camps. The camps are designed to provide treatment, care, education and assistance to troubled youth as they learn to rejoin their families and the community. Youths are assigned probation officers to help prepare and oversee their release.
Allegations of Sexual Abuse at LA County Juvenile Facilities
A concerning number of sexual abuse complaints are troubling. More than 600 former youth detainees have filed lawsuits that allege sexual harassment or abuse while in the care of CCP facilities in Los Angeles County. The allegations span all the way back to as far as 1972. The abuse allegedly continued and has impacted the lives of countless girls. These minor children were supposed to be safe and protected while in custody, yet the system may have failed them. It is unknown how many additional victims may have been abused and have not come forward.
Why Have Camp Sexual Abuse Complaints Continued?
Many allegations of sexual abuse were found in the early 2000s. The Department of Justice began monitoring the alleged abuse, including 41 areas of concern. After a 6-year investigation, the DOJ deemed the camps were in compliance in 2015. Unfortunately, the allegations of abuse have not been resolved. The DOJ failed to quickly evaluate the situation and failed to provide adequate monitoring and accountability. As a result, there are hundreds of young women who are victims of child sexual abuse.
Settlements of Child Sexual Abuse Complaints Cases
The county faces a large number of lawsuits brought by victims of sexual abuse while they were at juvenile facilities. It is estimated that the cost to settle up to 3,000 claims could be between $1.3 billion to $3 billion. The various lawsuits are across various facilities and time-frames in the Los Angeles camp system. Recently, two of the facilities were almost shut down by the Board of State and Community Corrections due to poor conditions. Two state senators have requested the DOJ take action in the child sexual abuse allegations matter.
Child sexual abuse causes physical and emotional harm that continues well into adulthood. If you are the victim of child sexual abuse, you may still have time to take legal action. Contact our California child sex abuse attorney today at Beck Law at (707) 576-7175 to discuss the abuse with our knowledgeable attorneys in a private consultation.
