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Photo: Multnomah County Central Courthouse in downtown Portland, Oregon; by Steve Morgan, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Editor’s note: This article is based on allegations contained in a civil lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, along with reporting by Hoodline and The Oregonian/OregonLive.
A lawsuit filed in Oregon alleges the state’s child welfare agency repeatedly failed to act on warning signs that a girl was being sexually exploited and trafficked beginning at age 13,
The plaintiff, identified in court records by initials, is now 18. She alleges the Oregon Department of Human Services had multiple opportunities to intervene but failed to properly investigate reports of abuse and trafficking.
The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
According to the complaint, the girl was trafficked for nearly three years by an adult man who was later convicted and sentenced to prison.
Lawsuit Says DHS Missed Multiple Chances to Intervene
The complaint alleges that warnings reached authorities more than once.
According to the lawsuit, police received a report in 2022 that an adult man was sexually abusing girls and trafficking one of them.
That same period, the plaintiff reportedly disclosed sexual assault and came into contact with hospitals, law enforcement and child welfare personnel.
Her attorneys allege DHS failed to assign an investigator to at least one trafficking report and did not properly screen other concerns under its own policies.
The lawsuit says the warning signs continued to accumulate over time.
They allegedly included medical treatment, prolonged school absence, evidence of exploitation and later hospitalization after the girl was shot.
Survivor Says the Harm Has Continued
The plaintiff alleges the exploitation caused long-term psychological and emotional harm.
Her lawsuit seeks damages for trauma, counseling and other treatment.
The case is centered not only on the conduct of the trafficker, but on whether the state agency responsible for protecting vulnerable children failed to respond when information suggesting abuse was available.
That institutional question is what makes the case significant beyond a single criminal prosecution.
Trafficker Was Later Sentenced to Prison
The adult man accused of trafficking the girl later pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges and was sentenced in 2025 to 19 years in prison.
Another defendant was sentenced to 15 years.
Several additional men were also convicted in connection with commercial sexual exploitation of the survivor.
Those criminal cases resolved questions about the conduct of the individuals involved.
The civil lawsuit against Oregon DHS examines whether the state could have intervened earlier and prevented some of the harm.
Oregon DHS Has Faced Other Major Child-Welfare Claims
The lawsuit comes as Oregon’s child welfare system has faced substantial scrutiny over other alleged failures to protect children.
In January 2026, a Multnomah County jury awarded $29.2 million in a case involving allegations that DHS failed to properly investigate a hotline report before a child suffered catastrophic injuries.
In 2025, DHS also agreed to a $40 million settlement involving four former foster youth who alleged severe abuse after failures in placement screening and oversight.
Those cases are factually different from the new trafficking lawsuit, but they add to broader concerns about how Oregon’s child welfare system handles reports involving vulnerable children.
Case Focuses on What Happens When Warning Signs Are Missed
Child trafficking cases often involve young people who come into contact with multiple systems at once. Schools, hospitals, police, child welfare agencies and courts may all see pieces of what is happening.
The challenge is whether those pieces are recognized early enough to trigger meaningful intervention, which is the central allegation in the new Oregon lawsuit.
The plaintiff is not arguing that one missed call alone caused everything that followed; she alleges that there were a series of missed opportunities over time.
If those allegations are proven, the case could become another example of how institutional failures can contribute to prolonged abuse even when warning signs were already visible.
Learn More About Sexual Abuse Claims in Oregon
Survivors may have legal options when abuse involves a government agency, foster care system, residential program or other institution that allegedly failed to protect them.
Learn more about legal rights and options in our Oregon Sexual Abuse Attorney Guide.
