NEW YORK FOSTER CARE SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors of Sexual Abuse in New York Foster Care & Group Homes

The foster care system in New York has come under fire as survivors of sexual abuse bravely come forward to share their stories. For too long, vulnerable children in foster care in New York have suffered at the hands of those entrusted to protect them. Now, survivors are demanding justice—not just for themselves, but to ensure no child endures the same pain.

If you or a loved one has suffered sexual abuse in foster care in New York, know that you are not alone. Contact Levy Konigsberg today for a free consultation. Together, we can fight for accountability, justice, and change.

History of Child Sexual Abuse in the New York Foster Care System

Sexual abuse perpetrated against children in the New York foster care system has been documented by various investigations and high-profile lawsuits over the years. 

Examples of alleged abuse, and of conditions likely to lead to abuse, include the following:

• In January 2025, Ronald Chilson, a foster parent in Dundee, New York, was charged for allegedly sexually abusing children he was responsible for as a foster parent or adoptive parent between 2022 and 2023.

• In July 2024, reports revealed that over 800 cases had been filed under the Child Victims Act against private foster care agencies in New York, according to the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies. Two-thirds of these cases were in New York City. 

• In June 2024, Warren County and the United Methodist Church in New York agreed to pay $875,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a man who was allegedly sexually abused as a child by former minister and foster parent Richard Reynolds. 

• In August 2022, John Olson was arrested on charges that he sexually abused children at daycare and foster care homes in Orange and Delaware counties. A clinical social worker, Joan Parks, was allegedly aware of the abuse, and failed to report it, leading to charges of failure to report child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child being brought against her.

• In February 2022, Sharice and Kareem Mitchell, a married couple from New York City, were arrested for allegedly forcing young women in their care through the foster care system into prostitution.  The couple allegedly ran a sex trafficking operation involving at least eight women since 2018. Two of the women had been placed in the wife’s care in her role as a certified New York State foster parent, according to prosecutors. The husband was reportedly already a registered sex offender.

• In February 2017, a grand jury report called New York’s child welfare system “woefully inadequate” after former foster parent Cesar Gonzalez-Mugaburu was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing foster children for over 20 years.  The report blamed negligence on rules protecting foster parents’ reputations, poor abuse investigations, and inadequate information sharing by child-welfare agencies. Gonzalez-Mugaburu allegedly took in 140 boys aged 8-14 between 1996 and 2015, despite being investigated 18 times for child abuse.  He reportedly kept his victims quiet with threats and claims of hidden cameras, until two brothers came forward in January 2016 to report the sexual abuse. Gonzalez-Mugaburu was charged with sexually abusing eight of his foster children.

• In 2014, the nonprofit agency SCO Family of Services and other New York foster groups were forced to pay approximately $17 million to foster children for alleged abuse by foster parent Judith Leekin.  These same agencies sent foster children to Cesar Gonzalez-Mugaburu.  Leekin allegedly abused the children using restraint, starvation, and violence, while one child disappeared and was presumed dead.

• In 2012, New York City settled for an additional $9.7 million with 10 individuals with disabilities adopted as children by Leekin and  subjected to years of abuse. The city placed two of the children with Leekin through a city-run adoption unit. The other eight children were placed with her through three private adoption agencies that had contracts with the city.

Recent Decision Underscores Governmental Entities’ Duty to Protect Children in Foster Care

• On February 18, 2025, New York State’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, issued a decision in the case Weisbrod-Moore v. Cayuga County which underscores that entities placing children in foster care homes have a continuing duty to safeguard the child. The plaintiff in the case sued the County of Cayuga under the Child Victims Act alleging she was sexually abused by her foster parents in the 70s and 80s after the county placed her with those foster parents. The Court held that governmental entities like the county continue to have a responsibility to protect children they place in foster care from reasonably foreseeable risks of harm, including harms inflicted by third parties, such as foster parents.

Do I Have a Case?

You may have grounds to file a civil legal action if you were sexually abused in a foster care home.

As civil claims, these cases are separate from any criminal proceedings that may arise from abuse and focus instead on holding institutions liable for damages. This means you may still have a claim even if:

• Your abuser is no longer alive.
• Your abuser was never charged with or convicted of a crime.

Recoverable Damages in Sexual Abuse Claims

In addition to providing accountability and a sense of justice, civil sex abuse lawsuits allow survivors to recover financial compensation for their damages, which may include:

• Past medical and mental health expenses
• Future mental health expenses, including therapy, medications, etc.
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and psychological harm
• Lost income
• Other economic and non-economic damages

Liability in Foster Care Sex Abuse Cases

The state and any company that it subcontracts with to provide foster care services are obligated to protect children under their supervision. This includes ensuring that children are placed in homes that are secure, adequately managed, and regularly monitored. The failure to ensure the safety of foster care children takes an enormous toll on an already susceptible population and can lead to years and decades of trauma for victims.

New York Foster Care Sexual Abuse Statute of Limitations

A statute of limitations sets deadlines for victims to bring claims against their abuser or entities responsible for the abuse. New York has pioneered efforts to make it easier for sexual abuse survivors to seek justice and compensation.

In 2019, New York passed the Child Victims Act, expanding the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Under current law: (1) survivors of childhood sexual abuse at private facilities or homes who were born after February 14, 1998, have until age 55 to file civil lawsuits; and (2) survivors of childhood sexual abuse at governmental facilities who were born after November 15, 1999, have until age 55 to file civil lawsuits.

Levy Konigsberg is actively investigating allegations of sexual abuse at any New York foster care home or facilities.

We are here for survivors of sexual abuse in foster care—listening, supporting, and fighting for justice. Every child deserves safety, and we are committed to holding those who failed them accountable while working toward a future where no child has to endure such pain.