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Photo credit: San Diego County Administration Center by Ryan Schwark / Flickr, Public Domain.
San Diego County is facing two new lawsuits from at least 88 former wards who allege they were sexually abused by county employees while housed in juvenile detention or foster-care facilities, Emma Gallegos of EdSource reported.
The new cases push the number of people currently suing the county over alleged childhood sexual abuse to more than 300, adding to a growing wave of litigation involving facilities responsible for some of San Diego County’s most vulnerable children.
One lawsuit involves former residents of Polinsky Children’s Center, a temporary emergency shelter in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood of San Diego for children removed from their homes. The other was brought by former residents of county juvenile halls.
The plaintiffs accuse probation officers, social workers and other employees of sexual assault, fondling, threats and retaliation while the plaintiffs were minors in county custody. Some of the allegations involve abuse that occurred decades ago.
Lawsuits Allege Abuse Was Part of a Broader Institutional Failure
As with earlier lawsuits against San Diego County, the latest complaints do not portray the alleged misconduct as simply the actions of individual employees.
Instead, plaintiffs accuse county officials of failing to respond adequately to warning signs, investigate reports of abuse and provide sufficient supervision and accountability inside facilities entrusted with protecting children.
One complaint describes the alleged abuse as reflecting a “longstanding, systemic failure” rather than isolated misconduct.
That allegation echoes claims made in earlier San Diego County lawsuits. Former residents have previously alleged that employees were able to exploit the enormous power imbalance between children in custody and the adults responsible for supervising them.
Some plaintiffs have also alleged that children feared retaliation if they resisted or reported abuse, including threats involving their confinement or privileges.
Polinsky Children’s Center Again Named in Abuse Litigation
The inclusion of Polinsky Children’s Center broadens the latest round of litigation beyond juvenile detention.
Polinsky provides temporary care for children who cannot safely remain in their homes, often after experiencing abuse, neglect or significant family instability. That can make children entering the facility especially dependent on the adults responsible for their safety.
Previous lawsuits involving Polinsky have similarly alleged that county employees sexually abused children placed at the shelter and that inadequate supervision and institutional safeguards allowed misconduct to occur.
Were you sexually abused while in a California juvenile detention center, foster-care facility or other institution?
California law gives some survivors additional time to pursue civil claims. Learn more about your rights and legal options from our California Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Guide.
More Than 300 Plaintiffs Are Now Pursuing Claims
The latest lawsuits add 88 plaintiffs to litigation that already involved hundreds of former residents of San Diego County youth facilities.
Earlier cases have included allegations involving the former Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, Camp Barrett and other county-operated programs.
Some previous plaintiffs said their complaints were ignored or dismissed. Others alleged that employees accused of misconduct remained in positions where they continued to have access to minors.
The litigation has grown in part because California changed its civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault claims through Assembly Bill 218, which gave many survivors additional time to pursue claims and temporarily revived certain claims that had previously expired.
The three-year revival window created by AB 218 closed on December 31, 2022. However, some survivors may still be able to pursue claims under California’s existing filing rules depending on the circumstances of their case.
San Diego County Faces Mounting Scrutiny
San Diego County officials have generally declined to discuss the specific allegations while the lawsuits remain pending.
The county has previously said that it maintains policies intended to protect children and investigates allegations involving employees. Plaintiffs, however, contend that the growing number of similar claims involving multiple facilities and decades of alleged misconduct points to failures extending beyond individual employees.
Whether the newest cases will ultimately be consolidated with other pending San Diego County sexual-abuse lawsuits remains to be seen.
For survivors, the increasing number of plaintiffs also illustrates something that frequently occurs in institutional-abuse cases: allegations that may initially appear isolated can take on a different significance when other former residents describe similar experiences involving the same facilities, employees or institutional practices.
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