In an unprecedented payment, the county of the complaints of sexual abuse for $ 4 billion

The County of Los Angeles plans to pay $ 4 billion to settle nearly 7,000 allegations of sexual abuse on childhood which would have taken place within its facilities for minors and reception houses, eclipstating the largest colonials of sexual abuse in American history.

The gigantic colony, which must still be approved by the county Complaint And the Comté supervisors represents a billion dollars more than the county officials had foreseen Like the worst case to resolve a wave of proceedings – and much more than other notorious organizations to allow uncontrolled sexual abuses paid victims.

The Boy Scouts of America, in comparison, agreed to pay $ 2.46 billion. THE Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid approximately $ 1.5 billion for alleged abuses to the hands of Catholic priests. Victims of the Gynecologist of USC George Tyndall $ 1.1 billion. Michigan State University paid $ 500 million to the victims of the team doctor Larry Nassar.

The unprecedented regulation comes from AB 218, a 2020 State law This gave victims of sexual abuse on childhood a new window to continue, even if the limitation period had expired.

Many California counties, who are responsible for the care of children in reception homes and juvenile rooms, have seen an increase in prosecution. For the county of the, it was a deluge that has still not stopped.

Thousands of men and women introduced himself to saying that they had been assaulted or raped by probation officials ago when they were imprisoned as children of the sprawling network and camps for county minors.

Thousands of other alleged sexual abuse at La Fremousse now closed Maclaren children’s centerA house managed by the county for children with foster family that the lawyers of the complainants compared to a “horrors house”. A report revealed that the establishment had spent decades without checking criminal history checks on its staff.

Together, the thousands of prosecution, most of which imply alleged abuses from the 1980s to the 2000s, paint a table of a government which failed to intervene while its facilities have turned into hunting grounds for predators, which held immense power over the children of their guard.

“On behalf of the county, I apologize wholeheartedly to all those who were injured by these reprehensible acts,” said Fesia Davenport, CEO of the county of the, in a press release.

She said the county had worked in recent years to repress the sexual abuse of minors. The improvements presented by the county include strengthening the verification of reception parents and probation employees and the conclusion of the use of group houses like Maclaren Children’s Center.

Couch Make the headlines in 2023 When it estimated during a public budgetary audience that the county could consider $ 1.6 billion at $ 3 billion in responsibility for claims of around 3,000 sexual abuse it expected.

His estimate was greeted by a shock and a suspicion of skepticism of experienced lawyers pursuing the county, who said that this would explode any previous sexual abuse in the water.

Since then, thousands of additional victims have continued, and more manifesting each other. In addition to creating a three -year window for the victims, which closed End of 2023The new state law allowed the applicants to continue if they were under 40 or recently discovered the abuses they suffered as a child.

The county said that the regulation of $ 4 billion covers most of them – but not all – prosecution of sexual abuse on childhood. Some lawyers were not willing to participate in the “global mediation process” and the complainants in these cases will be part of a separate settlement, according to the county.

Patrick McNicholas, whose law firm represents 1,200 complainants, said that he was attentive during colony discussions to reach a certain number which would do justice to the thousands of victims without going bankrupt the county, which serves as a social security net of the region. He estimated that the government could remain solvent with a payment of $ 4 billion – and yet it was always the greatest payment of sexual abuse that it has ever heard of.

“This is a historic regulation,” he said, noting that he could not find a greater sexual abuse regulation in the world. “He recognizes the horrible evil that was done.”

Payment of $ 4 billion will be a blow for a county already tumultuous financial waters, Thanks to threats to financing Trump’s White House cuts and the cost of recovering devastating blades and Eaton forest fires. Davenport warned that the county governmentwhich has a budget of around $ 49 billion, could face “a budgetary crisis” unless hiring is frozen.

Comté officials said money would come from the emptying of the county rainfall funds, the reduction in department’s budgets and the abolition of obligations. The county should owe hundreds of millions of dollars of interest on these obligations, which must be reimbursed by 2051.

The county said that he would pay the payment of the regulation between January 2026 and January 30, 2030, providing billions with the “independent beneficiaries” who will decide to divide it from around 6,800 complainants.

There have been few criminal proceedings of county staff accused of abuse in prosecution. The Probation Department presented the Los Angeles County Prosecutor’s Office with evidence against two staff members, Thomas Jackson and Altovise Abner, in December 2023. The status of these cases was not immediately available.

Some of the employees accused of being the most prolific attackers were on the county’s wage bill until recently. Jackson resigned from the probation service in the fall of 2023, ending a 33 -year career in which at least 20 women accused him of sexually abusing them when they were girls.