Lawsuits have been filed for foster children who were sexually abused at MacLaren Hall in Los Angeles County.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting MacLaren Hall sex abuse cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was sexually abused at MacLaren Hall, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Child Sex Abuse Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
LA County Reserves $3 Billion to Pay Sex Abuse Lawsuit Settlements
In April 2023, Los Angeles County set aside $3 billion in its budget to pay settlements in up to 3,000 sexual abuse lawsuits.
MacLaren Hall Lawsuits for Sexual Abuse
Lawsuits involve former foster children who were sexually abused at MacLaren Children’s Center (also known as “MacLaren Hall”), a foster care facility in El Monte, California, between 1961 and 2003.
Lawsuits continue to be filed against Los Angeles County by lawyers who are helping the survivors of child sexual abuse at MacLaren Hall seek justice and compensation.
What Was MacLaren Hall?
MacLaren Hall, also known as MacLaren Children’s Center, was a residential facility for foster children and teenagers in Los Angeles County. It was operated by the county from 1961 to 2003 to house children who were removed from their homes and had nowhere to go.
Despite being intended as short-term housing, many children ended up staying for long periods of time. As a result, MacLaren Hall was perpetually overcrowded with hundreds of children and teenagers, dirty, and unsafe, without enough adults to watch over the children.
Many of the adults were criminals themselves, but never underwent background checks before they were hired at MacLaren Hall. When children reported physical and sexual assaults, these complaints were routinely ignored, according to lawsuits, resulting in ongoing abuse.
Violent Children With No Supervision
Things worsened dramatically when MacLaren Hall started to bring in teenagers with histories of violent behavior, mental health disorders, and criminal activities. With too many children to adequately supervise, the result was rampant physical and sexual abuse.
Lawsuits Describe MacLaren Hall as “House of Horrors”
Lawsuits against Los Angeles County describe MacLaren Hall as a “house of horrors” where children as young as 5 years old were sexually abused, which ranged from groping to rape.
MacLaren Hall — Foster Home or Child Prison?
Survivors describe MacLaren Hall like a child prison that was run by the Los Angeles County Probation Department, with barbed-wire fences, locked gates, doors guarded by officers, and frequent physical assaults and sexual abuse by staff and other children.
No Background Checks Until 2001
Shockingly, LA County did not was not start performing background checks on staff at MacLaren Hall until 2001, or just two years before it closed. At least 17 employees were disqualified to work with children due to criminal backgrounds that were not disclosed previously, according to a Grand Jury Report.
MacLaren Hall Closes As Part of Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
The facility finally closed in 2003 as part of a class action settlement with the ACLU of Southern California. ACLU attorneys wrote that children were so neglected that it was like “government-sponsored child abuse.”
2020 Law Opens 3-Year Window to File Lawsuits
Two decades after MacLaren Hall closed for good, survivors have been able to file lawsuits because of a change in California law in 2020. This opened a 3-year window to bring claims of sexual abuse in situations where the statute of limitations had already expired.
12 Survivors File Lawsuit Against LA County
In June 2022, a group of 12 survivors filed a lawsuit claiming they were sexually abused at MacLaren Hall. Lawyers are investigating claims on behalf of 2,000 foster children who have come forward, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Women Claim They Were Sexually Abused as Children
In September 2021, two women, now ages 54 and 61 years old, filed a sex abuse lawsuit alleging that male staff at MacLaren subjected them to forced vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and other sexual abuse, when they were just 8 years old.
$150,000 Settlement in MacLaren Hall Lawsuit
In October 2009, Los Angeles County supervisors approved a $150,000 settlement with 17 children who claimed they were abused at MacLaren Hall from 2000 to 2002.
Do I have a MacLaren Hall Sex Abuse Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting MacLaren Hall sex abuse cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was sexually abused at MacLaren Hall, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Child Sex Abuse Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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