Los Angeles County announced Friday that it is closing in on the costliest financial settlement in its history after reaching a tentative agreement to settle thousands of sex abuse cases.
The agreement would pay $4 billion to settle more than 6,800 claims of sexual abuse dating back to 1959 but still needs to be approved by the L.A. County Claims Board and the Board of Supervisors, officials stated in a news release.
“If approved, the settlement would resolve most—but not all—of the claims filed against the County under AB 218, which went into effect in 2020, waiving the statute of limitations and providing a 3-year window to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to come forward,” the County stated.
According to the release, claimants’ awards would be determined and administered by an independent team of allocation experts.
Officials said most of the claims are alleged to have happened at Probation Department facilities and the MacLaren Children’s Center in the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s. The Children’s Center was permanently closed in 2003.