NBC 7’s Dave Summers reports that the alleged abuse of more than 100 children by staff members occurred between 1994 and 2020.
A series of recently filed civil complaints allege that more than 100 children were sexually assaulted over the years by staff members at a San Diego County-owned emergency shelter for children.
The litigation concerns the A.B. and Jessie Polinsky Children's Center, a 24-hour facility that provides temporary emergency shelter for children "who must be separated from their families for their own safety, or when parents can not provide care," according to the county.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs allege that between 1994 and 2020, their clients were sexually abused by staff members and threatened in order to keep them from reporting the abuse.
The complaints allege the county, which owns and operates the center through its Health and Human Services Agency, failed to have adequate employee background checks and screening processes and failed in its duty to protect children placed in its care.
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"There was an institutional failure to adequately staff the facility and monitor employees so that children would not be left alone in circumstances that invited sexual abuse," the complaint read.
The complaint identifies the alleged victims as John and Jane Doe. At the time, they were under 10 years old. Now, they are in their 30s. Some of the alleged offenses include:
- 1998: Plaintiff alleges at 9 years old he was regularly sexually assaulted in his bedroom by his abuser
- 1999: Plaintiff alleges at 7 years old he was groped as a way for his abusers to tell him to calm down
- 1999: Plaintiff alleges at 8 years old she was groped by her abuser that groomed her hair
There are 50 unnamed defendants in the complaint.
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County spokesman Michael Workman said the county cannot comment on pending litigation.
The complaints were filed by Slater Slater Schulman LLP, a national law firm that frequently takes up cases involving sexual abuse.
The firm's founding and managing partner, Adam Slater, said in a statement, "It is utterly unacceptable that such heinous acts were allowed to persist in a place meant to provide safety and care. These were children seeking refuge during a highly disruptive moment in their young lives. Rather than providing them a place to be loved and nurtured, the county was sending child after child into their own personal hell."
Former employees told NBC 7 over the phone that the center was understaffed, employees and volunteers were mistreated and that the children were difficult to control under the circumstances. They had not, however, heard any complaints of sexual abuse there.
