Three months after dozens of former detainees alleged widespread sexual abuse in San Bernardino County juvenile detention facilities, a second lawsuit has been filed on behalf of 123 more plaintiffs making similar allegations dating back as far as 30 years.
Read more What to do if you’re in default on your federal student loans
The suit, filed Aug. 7 in San Bernardino County Superior Court, alleges the former detainees were subjected to “pervasive, repeated and egregious acts of sexual abuse” while in custody. Named as defendants are the county, its Probation Department, 49 individually identified or partially identified employees and staff members, and 500 unidentified “Doe” defendants.
“The abuse … was not a matter of isolated misconduct by a few rogue employees. Rather, it reflects a longstanding, systemic failure on the part of San Bernardino County officials to address red flags, properly supervise staff, and create conditions that could prevent such abuse,” the lawsuit states.
Attorney Doug Rochen, who is representing the 123 plaintiffs, said the complaint is a companion lawsuit to another he filed in May on behalf of 136 plaintiffs who alleged they were raped, molested, groped and endured other sexual assaults by probation staff and others from 1996 to 2024.
The latest lawsuit alleges some of the former detainees had “cognitive, emotional, or developmental vulnerabilities” and were subjected to a “sustained pattern of sexual exploitation by adults acting under color of law, while clothed with the authority of San Bernardino County.”
“These children could not leave. The county locked the doors, chose who guarded them, and decided who entered their rooms at night,” Rochen said in a statement Tuesday, Aug. 11. “Our clients allege the county used none of that power to protect them and all of it to shield the men who abused them.”
Rochen said the second filing of this size “is not an anomaly — it is the record of an institution that knew and looked away,” .
The alleged sexual assaults, the lawsuit claims, included forced genital touching, groping, digital penetration, oral copulation and exposure to sexually explicit conduct, often accompanied by intimidation and psychological coercion. Some of the alleged victims reported being physically restrained or threatened with solitary confinement for refusing to comply, and that the abuse continued with impunity because of inadequate oversight, an ineffective grievance system and a culture of intimidation, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs also allege county officials were repeatedly warned about the abuse but failed to act. They allegedly concealed misconduct by falsifying logs, threatening whistleblowers and tampering with surveillance systems, according to the lawsuit.
Read more Federal report says firefighting tactics at Maine lumber mill explosion aided the blast
The lawsuit details more than 100 instances of alleged sexual abuse by correctional staff. One plaintiff, now 40, claims that during a physical evaluation a “facility doctor” told him to lift his shirt and lower his pants halfway, then masturbated him while whispering threats not to report the assault.
Another plaintiff, now 39, alleges that a staff member entered his cell after he returned from a shower at San Bernardino Juvenile Hall and assaulted him. During the struggle, his towel fell off before the officer handcuffed his hands behind his back, kicked and punched him, and covered his mouth to stifle his screams. The officer then masturbated him, according to the lawsuit.
Both lawsuits noted the 2013 arrest and subsequent conviction of probation corrections officer Latavia Davis, a defendant in the lawsuit filed in May, on suspicion sexually assaulting a detained male juvenile, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Davis, a resident of Menifee, pleaded no contest in January 2015 and was sentenced to 180 days in county jail under “converted confinement,” court records show. Converted confinement is less restrictive than jail lockup, and can be home confinement and/or electronic monitoring, among other things.
Davis’ victim, a plaintiff in the May lawsuit, alleges that in 2012, when he was 16, Davis came into his cell and touched his penis and tried coercing him to perform oral sex on her, but he didn’t know how, according to the lawsuit.
County spokesperson Jannelle Needham declined comment Tuesday, saying the county does not comment on pending litigation.
Officials with the county Probation Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Read more Disney Jr. kids festival returns to Disney California Adventure