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Seven former California foster youth have sued former pediatrician Patrick Clyne and Santa Clara County, alleging Clyne sexually abused them during medical examinations and that county officials failed to act on warning signs that stretched back years.
The 40-page complaint was filed May 8 in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The plaintiffs, who are identified by initials, allege the abuse occurred during routine medical appointments between 2001 and 2011.
But the lawsuit is about more than Clyne’s alleged conduct.
The former foster youth also accuse Santa Clara County child welfare officials of failing to properly investigate earlier reports involving Clyne and allowing him to remain in positions that gave him access to vulnerable children.
The case represents another chapter in litigation involving a doctor who once held several positions of trust within the county’s foster-care and child-protection systems.
Lawsuit Alleges County Had Warning Signs Years Earlier
According to The Imprint, the plaintiffs allege Santa Clara County had information raising concerns about Clyne as early as 1996.
The complaint describes an incident report involving inappropriate contact with a foster child. It also alleges that additional concerns emerged in 2001.
That year, a foster parent reportedly asked a county social worker to report Clyne after a child said Clyne had touched them inappropriately during a medical examination. According to the filing, the social worker later said she did not make the report because Clyne was considered a respected doctor.
The lawsuit also cites testimony from a county employee who said then-emergency response manager Ken Borelli instructed him to “stand down” from an investigation involving Clyne.
Borelli, a former deputy director of the county Department of Family and Children’s Services, is named as a defendant along with Santa Clara County and Clyne.
A grand jury considered sexual abuse allegations involving three foster children who had lived in Clyne’s home in 2001 but did not indict him.
Clyne Held Multiple Positions of Trust
Clyne was not only a pediatrician treating foster children.
He was also a licensed foster parent and served as chief pediatrician for Santa Clara County’s foster-care system. At different points, he participated in the County Child Death Review Team and served as a child-abuse expert witness for the local district attorney’s office.
The plaintiffs argue that those roles contributed to Clyne’s standing as a trusted authority and made county officials reluctant to scrutinize him when concerns arose.
The complaint alleges that rather than restricting Clyne’s access to children after warning signs emerged, county officials continued allowing foster youth to receive care from him.
For a fuller look at the allegations against Patrick Clyne, the Santa Clara County litigation, filing deadlines and legal options for survivors, visit our Dr. Patrick Clyne Sexual Abuse Lawsuits guide.
Allegations Continued After Clyne Left the County
Santa Clara County terminated Clyne from his position in 2011 after the district attorney’s office placed him on a list of witnesses whose credibility could be challenged in court.
In 2014, the California Department of Social Services barred him from serving as a licensed foster parent or working with children or adults in state-licensed care facilities.
Clyne later practiced at a private pediatric clinic near Watsonville.
In 2019, the Medical Board of California and Watsonville Police Department began investigating additional allegations involving medical examinations of young patients. The Santa Cruz County District Attorney ultimately declined to bring criminal charges.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office later accused Clyne of professional misconduct, including gross negligence during examinations of pediatric patients. Clyne surrendered his California medical license in 2025.
Clyne has been investigated multiple times but has not been criminally charged.
Earlier Clyne Case Resulted in $5.5 Million Settlement
The May lawsuit follows other civil claims involving Clyne and Santa Clara County.
In late 2025, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a $5.5 million settlement with a former foster youth who alleged that Clyne sexually abused him after the county placed him in Clyne’s home.
The former foster youth had been placed there in 1996 when he was 8 years old.
Two additional former foster youth filed a separate lawsuit in December 2025. That case remained pending when The Imprint reported on the seven-plaintiff lawsuit in May.
Together, the cases raise a broader question about institutional responsibility: what happens when a person accused of abuse was given access to children through the same foster-care and child-welfare systems responsible for protecting them?
California Law May Allow Some Older Childhood Abuse Claims
The allegations against Clyne involve conduct that reportedly occurred years or decades ago. That does not necessarily mean every potential civil claim is too old to pursue.
California has expanded the time available to many survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The filing deadline can depend on when the abuse occurred, the survivor’s age, when the connection between the abuse and its effects was discovered and which individuals or public entities may be named in the case.
Claims involving a county can also raise additional legal and procedural issues.
Survivors who were treated by Clyne, placed in his foster home or encountered him through Santa Clara County’s foster-care or medical systems should not assume the passage of time automatically prevents them from exploring their options.
