San Diego County confronts fresh round of sex-abuse claims by former youth

Jeff McDonald and Kristen Taketa, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jul 19, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Eight new plaintiffs have come forward with allegations that they were sexually abused by guards while being held in San Diego County juvenile detention facilities.

The abuse claims, which landed in San Diego federal court last week, come as the county departments of Probation and of Child and Family Well-Being already are confronting similar lawsuits from hundreds of other former residents of juvenile halls, temporary shelters and foster care facilities.

San Diego County “has clearly established sexual abuse and assault in jails, prisons and juvenile halls as an issue that must be addressed,” says the legal complaint, initially filed in superior court.

“It is a human rights issue that parties operating detention facilities can no longer turn a blind eye towards,” it adds.

The County Counsel’s Office, which oversees the defense of legal claims against San Diego County, successfully moved to transfer the state case into federal court. County officials declined to comment on the allegations, citing a policy of not discussing lawsuits outside court.

The case, which names eight new plaintiffs identified only as Jane and John Does, joins a litany of similar cases.

The allegations spelled out in the new federal lawsuit are similar to prior claims from former residents of the Kearny Mesa and East Mesa juvenile halls, the now-closed Camp Barrett in East County and the Polinsky Center.

Lawsuit after lawsuit allege that boys and girls as young as 11 were subjected to sexual abuse by guards or other county employees.

“The sexual abuse Jane D.L.9379 Doe suffered at the hands of (two officers) began when she was approximately 14 years old and continued until she was approximately 16 years old,” the newest legal complaint alleges.

“In or about 2004, Jane D.L.9379 Doe reported the abuse to a staff member at (Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility),” the suit adds. “Jane D.L.9379 Doe believes her verbal reports were disregarded by the staff.”

Other claims in the new lawsuit allege severe abuse, including rape. Lawyers for the victims say their clients continue to suffer mental anguish as a result of the claims.

The wave of litigation was prompted by state legislation enacted in 2019 that temporarily reopened the statute of limitations for sexual assault litigation against public agencies to allow plaintiffs under 40 years of age to pursue civil cases.

School districts, county governments and other public agencies across San Diego County and the state say they are being overwhelmed with a flood of abuse lawsuits — many difficult to defend because the allegations are from decades ago. Some officials also accuse plaintiffs’ attorneys of capitalizing on the state law as a money grab for big settlements and attorneys’ fees.

It has also spawned an insurance crisis for those agencies, and even agencies that aren’t directly getting sued, as the influx of cases inflates insurance costs overall. Agencies are also often being forced to pay for the resulting case settlements out of their own general funds because their insurance is limited in scope.

San Diego County is not alone in confronting lawsuits alleging sexual abuse decades ago by government employees. Los Angeles County last year agreed to a $4 billion legal settlement to victims of abuse in that jurisdiction.

_____