Lawsuits allege years of sexual abuse at a California emergency shelter for kids – The Mercury News

More than 100 people are suing San Diego County, alleging they were sexually abused by staffers during short stays at the region’s emergency children’s shelter over the last 30 years, attorneys for the plaintiffs announced this week.

The accusations regarding the Polinsky Children’s Center are in about 25 lawsuits filed in San Diego Superior Court over the last two years, as recently as late August. Several of the suits allege negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress at the Kearny Mesa site.

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The suits allege that lack of supervision led to “pervasive abuse,” and that the center’s practices “left children in isolated and vulnerable situations where predators employed by Polinsky could abuse and harm children with impunity.”

A county spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuits, as is standard practice for ongoing litigation.

The allegations across the suits range from instances of groping to repeated sexual assaults and date from the early 1990s to as recently as last year. The bulk of the cases are roughly alleging misconduct roughly 20 to 25 years ago.

The center has residential cottages and a nursery, and can house up to about 200 children. The county says more than 100 children — from infants to 17-year-olds — are admitted to the site each month. Average stays are generally less than two weeks.

The age of the accusers at the time of the alleged abuse ranges from as young as 2 and 3 to older teens. Some say they were abused by men, others said they were abused by women.

None of the lawsuits names a specific staffer. Attorney James Lewis, who represents the accusers, said that thus far, about seven people have been identified as suspected abusers, and he believes there are instances in which the same person abused more than one child.

Some of the accusers allege that staffers told them they would not be able to see family members or leave the center if they did not comply or if they reported the abuse. In some cases, the accusers said they reported the abuse but continued to see the staffer working at the center.

None of the suits have been resolved. All but one of them are assigned to the same judge, but it’s not clear whether they will be consolidated, which is often done for judicial economy and can help avoid conflicting rulings from differing judges.

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