FOSTER CARE & GROUP HOMES SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Nationwide Representation for Victims of Sexual Abuse in Foster Care & Group Homes

Levy Konigsberg is investigating claims that children were allegedly victims of foster care sexual abuse in homes and group facilities across the United States.

While foster care is intended to provide a safe, temporary haven for children facing difficult family circumstances, many vulnerable youth are instead re-victimized by the very systems designed to protect them. Statistics indicate that children in these settings face a significantly higher risk of harm; those in foster care are four times more likely to experience sexual maltreatment, while those in group homes are 28 times more likely to be abused compared to children in traditional home settings.

These incidents often occur in environments that are ripe for criminal activity due to being understaffed, underfunded, and inadequately supervised. Whether at a private agency or a state-run facility, a foster care sexual abuse lawyer can help hold responsible entities accountable for failing to properly screen caretakers or oversee the quality of care. If you are seeking a foster care sexual abuse attorney, it is important to know that legal filings and high-profile settlements in states like California, New York, and Illinois have already begun to highlight these systemic failures. Victims of violence and sexual abuse for foster care deserve justice, and our foster care sexual abuse lawyers are dedicated to helping survivors navigate the complexities of child sexual abuse in foster care litigation.

If you or a loved one was harmed, contact us today.

Sexual Abuse by Foster Parents & Other Predators

In cases of children who have been placed in foster care, sexual abuse may be difficult to detect.

Some of these children have faced significant trauma already as a result of being displaced. Perpetrators of abuse in foster homes may threaten retribution if the victim reveals the abuse. Foster care children are often reluctant to report abuse due to fear of expulsion from the current home to a potentially more dangerous situation.

Unlike other children who may eventually confide in a trusted adult, children in foster homes typically do not have a parent or other adult to support them. Foster kids are therefore highly susceptible to sexual abuse because they do not have access to trusted adults to whom they can report sexual assault and seek assistance.

The conditions in foster care may also create an atmosphere that is ripe for criminal activity against foster children. Group homes in particular are often understaffed, underfunded, and inadequately supervised. Workers employed by the state may fail to thoroughly screen foster parents and properly oversee the quality of care at the foster homes in which children are placed.

Sexual predators often exploit these types of situations to sexually assault children in foster homes.

High-Profile Payouts Illustrate How Survivors Can Use Civil Suits to Secure Justice

A number of high-profile legal filings, settlements, and verdicts have illustrated how government-operated foster care systems, private programs, and other responsible entities can be held liable for their failures to protect foster children who are sexually abused. 

Such payments have been reported across the country, including in:

• California Foster Care Homes
• Illinois Foster Care Homes
• Michigan Foster Care Homes
• New Jersey Foster Care Homes
• New York Foster Care Homes
• Oregon Foster Care Homes
• Pennsylvania Foster Care Homes
• Washington Foster Care Cases

These cases have served an important purpose in highlighting systemic issues within foster care systems and have shown how survivors can harness the power of the civil justice system to secure the compensation they deserve.  Examples of recent filings, settlements, and verdicts are as follows:

California

• In December 2023, a California jury awarded nearly $25 million to three siblings who were allegedly sexually abused by their foster parent, Mark Zapata Martinez.  The jury apportioned most of the fault to the Santa Rosa-based Alternative Family Services, the agency that placed the children in Martinez’s home.  The jury found that Alternative Family Services was liable for 60% of the settlement, Mark Martinez for 35%, and his wife, Martha Martinez, for 5%. According to the attorney who represented the three children, Alternative Family Services failed to properly approve and supervise the Martinez foster home.

• In October 2022, it was reported that the San Bernardino County Department of Children and Family Services (CFS) had been sued in at least four lawsuits stemming from alleged physical and sexual abuse of foster children, and resulting in more than $10 million through two settlements and one jury verdict in California.  In December 2016, the first lawsuit was filed alleging that the county, CFS, and two employees retaliated against social worker and whistleblower Eric Bahra. Bahra allegedly reported that CFS negligently placed 54 foster children in the home of a known serial child molester, Leonardo Rodriguez. The jury awarded Bahra $2.5 million in damages. The second lawsuit was filed on behalf of five of the 54 children placed in Rodriguez’s foster home. In the third lawsuit, the county settled for $7.5 million in a case alleging that CFS covered up an older foster child’s abuse of the younger sibling from the adoptive parents before the adoption of both children. In September 2015, a fourth lawsuit was filed alleging that the county retaliated against social worker and whistleblower Mary Anna Whitehall when Whitehall claimed the County of San Bernardino was involved in fraud upon the court, the cover up of child abuse within its foster care program, and retaliation against whistleblowers.

• In October 2018, California’s Riverside County settled for $11 million with two victims of child abuse stemming from botched investigations by the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) and the county’s failure to protect the victims from abuse. A $10 million settlement was awarded to one of the plaintiffs who was allegedly raped and impregnated by her mother’s live-in boyfriend after the county’s child protection staff closed their investigation, deeming it inconclusive. A $1.375 million settlement was awarded to another plaintiff after DPSS staff allegedly did not remove her from obviously horrific living conditions.

• In November 2016, a California foster care agency paid $4 million to settle a lawsuit on behalf of two grade school children who alleged that the agency placed a sexual predator in their foster home who sexually abused them for over six months and who had a history of molesting younger boys.

• In August 2010, a $30 million settlement was awarded to a male victim in California who was sexually abused by foster parent, John Hardy Jackson, from December 1995 to March 1999, starting when the victim was 11 years old. Jackson was accused of sexually abusing children, physically abusing his wife and biological son, and struggling with substance abuse and legal issues.  The private foster family agency, Giarretto Institute, was held liable for 75% of the settlement, and Jackson for 25%. When children in Jackson’s care said he was sexually abusing them, the Giarretto Institute was reportedly responsible for investigating the allegations. All of them were allegedly dismissed as untrue. In 2006, Jackson was convicted in Santa Clara County of nine counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear and seven counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Illinois

• In July 2024, Trulon Henry, a former college football player and manager at a Chicago integrated care facility called Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center, was charged with allegedly sexually abusing a foster child in his care. Henry was hired to work at the facility despite a prior armed robbery conviction.  It was reported at the same time that there were also about 170 other pending investigations involving Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services reportedly began investigating the case in August of 2023, but didn’t stop sending kids there until May of 2024.

• In February 2024, Antonio Hopkins, a contracted security worker, was charged with allegedly abusing a child at the same facility, Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center.  Hopkins allegedly groped the 14-year-old victim multiple times. 

• In April 2023, it was reported that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) approved placing a teenage sex trafficking victim with Erick Johnson, a foster dad and alleged habitual criminal with past robbery, gun convictions, and a history of domestic violence for beating another teenage girl.  Shortly after becoming the teen’s foster dad, Johnson was arrested for allegedly running an online prostitution business from the same apartment where he was supposed to care for the foster child.

• In May 2000, Cook County Public Guardian Patrick T. Murphy filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Aunt Martha’s Intergrated Care Center, alleging it grossly violated state regulations when workers neglected to monitor two children who endured severe physical and sexual abuse while under the agency’s care.

Michigan

• In December 2023, four foster parents from Michigan were charged with several counts of child abuse involving eight children in their care.

• In April 2019, Mark Sorensen, former foster parent, was charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a foster child.

• In March 2018, William Easterling Jr., a former foster parent, was charged with sexual abuse for allegedly convincing a 16-year-old boy and another minor, aged 13 to 15, to record and send videos of themselves masturbating.

• In August 2016, Jackie Lee Pittman, a former Macomb County Adoption Board member and foster parent, was charged with sexual abuse for allegedly having inappropriate contact with a minor.

• In February 2008, a report described the failures of Michigan’s Department of Human Services (DHS) to protect children in foster care. The report examined five cases where children in DHS custody died, some from extreme abuse. The report highlighted several systemic problems, such as a lack of a dedicated child welfare division, unqualified leadership, mishandled abuse investigations, misleading or unreliable data, too few caseworkers, and children being placed in unlicensed foster homes without proper safety checks. These alleged failures reportedly led to Michigan’s foster care maltreatment rate being 2.5 times higher than the federal standard.

New Jersey

• In May 2025, the State of New Jersey agreed to pay $19.5 million to a brother and sister who endured years of sexual abuse in New Jersey foster homes in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  One of the siblings’ abusers was Joseph Salmon who allegedly sexually abused multiple of his foster children.  Salmon pleaded guilty in 1972 to sexually abusing a foster child when she was 8 years old and also pleaded guilty to raping his grandson in 1987.  According to the lawsuit, Salmon was not the only abusive foster parent in the siblings’ lives.  They alleged that they later went to live with other licensed foster parents and endured more sexual and psychological abuse, and even witnessed other assaults on other foster children in the home.

• In May 2024, a $6.75 million settlement was awarded to a woman who filed a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency.  She was allegedly raped by more than one foster father in state-licensed foster homes, starting when she was an 8-year-old and one other foster father. 

• In March 2024, a New Jersey jury awarded a $25 million verdict to a victim who was sexually abused in three Middlesex County foster homes. The lawsuit was filed in December 2019 against the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP).  The victim entered her first foster home at age 5 in 1987 and was sexually abused at age 6 by a babysitter’s husband. She was then placed in the second foster home for two months, where she reported being abused by her foster mother’s adult son. In the third foster home, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her foster father and foster mother’s teenage son until age 9, when she was returned to her family.

New York

• 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.

Massachusetts

• In August 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families agreed to pay $7 million to settle a lawsuit brought by four former foster children who were sexually abused by Raymond and Susan Blouin between the late 1990s to 2004. The suit claimed that DCF (formerly the Department of Social Services) ignored multiple reports of abuse and turned a blind eye to the unacceptable treatment in the home.

New Mexico

• In July 2023, a New Mexico jury awarded $485 million in damages to an 8-year-old girl who was repeatedly sexually assaulted after a foster care program placed her in the home of a foster parent who had been accused of sexual assault. The case was one of more than a half-dozen lawsuits involving sexual abuse in the Familyworks and now-defunct Youth and Family Centered Services of New Mexico Inc. program, which was operated by Acadia Healthcare.

Oregon

• In December 2023, the Oregon Department of Human Services (“DHS”) agreed to a $40 million settlement with four former foster children who suffered sexual and physical abuse in a foster home. The lawsuit alleges caseworkers repeatedly ignored signs of abuse and tried to cover up the abuse of one child who suffered seven broken bones – even as a criminal prosecution was underway. The case stems to 2011 when DHS certified Melissa and Casey Miller, a couple in Keizer, to be foster parents  In December 2011, the first two children, a 2-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, were placed in the home. Within a month, the boy showed signs of abuse, including bruises on his face, neck, ribs, and legs, but DHS ignored multiple reports and calls to the child abuse hotline. The girl also displayed signs of sexual abuse, but instead of removing her, DHS worked with the Millers to limit her visits with her biological mother. Despite numerous reports of abuse, additional children were placed in the home.  Eventually, in 2017, Casey Miller was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexual abuse of his foster children.  Melissa Miller was not charged.

• In March 2018, DHS settled for $1.3 million with a child who, in 2014 when she was 4 years old, was placed with Gabriel David Wallis, a foster father who allegedly sexually abused her. The lawsuit claimed the state certified Wallis as a foster care provider despite observing warning signs for abuse.

• In December 2014, a Portland jury awarded $4.1 million to two young girls who alleged their foster mother, Kimberly Janelle Vollmer, physically and sexually abused them.  In January 2011, DHS approved Vollmer as a foster parent despite a history of psychiatric hospitalization for self-harm and being fired from a caregiver job due to repeated medical negligence.  Before DHS intervened in January 2013, the agency had received seven reports to the child-abuse hotline about Vollmer. DHS finally acted after a church pastor and his wife noticed a handprint on the face of the 4-year-old victim, along with blood in the corner of her mouth. 

Pennsylvania

• In October 2021, the Pennsylvania social welfare agency, Turning Points For Children, signed a confidential settlement to pay $6 million to three young girls over its role in returning three girls to their sexually abusive father, who continued to assault them. An attorney who represented the girls said the welfare provider had knowledge of the abuse for years, and failed to follow protocols that could have protected the safety and well-being of the three children.

• A week later, the Pennsylvania youth residential facility, Carson Valley Children’s Aid, agreed to pay $4.6 million in a settlement focused on one of the three girls. In 2015, the girl was removed from her father’s custody after a report of abuse and lived in foster care for several months.  In 2016, she was transferred to Carson Valley which then allegedly allowed the girls to be returned to their father, despite the abuse. The girls’ father is serving a 37-year prison sentence in central Pennsylvania after he was convicted in 2018 of sexually abusing them.

Washington

• In July 2024, the state of Washington settled for $5 million each with three women who were allegedly sexually abused by two teenage sons of their foster parents between 1990 and 2000.  The abuse allegedly began when the women were 4, 5, and 6 years old and continued into their teen years after they were formally adopted by their foster mother. The sisters have stated that they hold the State of Washington primarily responsible for the abuse and that they allegedly rarely saw their social worker and described the foster home as a cult-like environment with extreme religious beliefs. They were also allegedly severely physically punished and abused including being hit with a belt and forced to stand in the rain naked for hours. 

• In December 2020, the state of Washington settled for $2 million with a woman who was allegedly raped and molested by her foster father, Abel Ortega. Ortega had allegedly already been accused of abusing another foster child before she was placed in his home and the state allegedly ignored her reports of sexual abuse. In 1995, when she was 3 years old, she was placed in the home where the alleged abuse began.  In 2004, she allegedly reported the alleged abuse to officials, but she was not removed from the home.  She reportedly only got away in 2009 when she went to the police to again report the alleged sexual abuse and rape.

• In March 2015, the state of Washington settled for $1.3 million with a woman who alleged that the state failed to protect her from abuse in three licensed foster homes.  She was allegedly sexually abused by her foster father at 4 years old. At another home, she was also allegedly sexually abused by her foster father and his son.

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.

Don’t Wait to Take Action – Call Now

Foster children who have been sexually abused can now file civil lawsuits under new laws passed in California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and other states, which permit claims for childhood sexual abuse which may have previously been time-barred. These claims may be brought for a limited amount of time; therefore, it is important to seek assistance immediately to pursue justice for your injuries.

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

We Represent Survivors in All Types of Sex Abuse Claims

At Levy Konigsberg, we have the experience and resources to help survivors in sexual abuse lawsuits involving all types of institutions and circumstances, including:

• Boy Scout Sexual Abuse
• Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
• Cruise Ship & Airline Sexual Abuse
• Doctors or Medical Staff Sexual Abuse
• Entertainment Industry Sexual Abuse
• Foster Care Sexual Abuse
• Group Home Sexual Abuse
• Hotel & Motel Sexual Abuse
• Other Religious Group Sexual Abuse
• Police Sexual Assault
• Psychiatric Hospital Sexual Abuse
• Rideshare Sexual Abuse
• School Sexual Abuse
• Sex Trafficking Lawsuits
• Social Media & Online Games Sexual Abuse
• Spas and Massage Parlors Sexual Abuse
• Summer Camp Sexual Abuse
• Voyeurism
• Women’s Prison Sexual Abuse
• Youth Facility Sexual Abuse
• Youth Sport Sexual Abuse