California Sexual Abuse Lawsuits and Settlements

January 26, 2026: Doctor Sex Abuse Arrest

A Milpitas doctor has been arrested following allegations that he sexually abused a patient during medical consultations. The allegations date back to 1995, when the patient was a minor. The patient reported the abuse to law enforcement in September 2025, prompting an investigation.

Dr. Sanjay Agarwa, a pulmonologist affiliated with local medical facilities, was arrested at his office and booked for sexual battery. Authorities have asked anyone with information or who believes they may have been victimized to come forward.

Civil lawsuits are expected to follow, as survivors have the right to hold the doctor and associated institutions accountable. These cases typically allege negligent supervision, failure to report suspected abuse, and direct harm from sexual misconduct.

Of course, there is rarely one victim. If you were a patient or suspect you were abused in connection with this doctor, you have legal options to pursue compensation and ensure accountability.

Our firm is reviewing these claims.

January 20, 2026: California School District Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Abuse of Special Needs Student

A federal lawsuit was filed last week in the Eastern District of California against the Rocklin Unified School District and several staff members, including a speech and language pathologist, an elementary school principal, and the district’s Director of Special Education. The suit was brought on behalf of a minor student with multiple disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism, and sensory processing disorder.

The complaint alleges that school staff failed to provide proper supervision and intervention during speech therapy sessions, leaving the child vulnerable to inappropriate sexualized behavior and other mistreatment. The minor’s parents claim the school ignored warning signs and failed to implement effective behavioral supports, despite prior concerns raised by family and staff.

December 16, 2025 – St. Anne’s Family Services Housing Sex Abuse Claims

We are investigating reports of sexual harassment and assault involving employees of St. Anne’s Family Services in Los Angeles.

St. Anne’s markets itself as a safe haven that offers short-term residential care, crisis intervention, mental health services, and support for pregnant and young parents. Our lawyers are reviewing lapses in supervision and reporting that may have enabled staff to exploit residents.

So if you are a current or former resident of St. Anne’s housing and experienced unwanted touching, sexual comments, coercion tied to housing or services, retaliation after reporting, or failures to protect you from known risks, you can contact us for a confidential evaluation.   Consultations are free and confidential.

November 26, 2025: Prison OB/GYN Charged and Sued For Abusing Patients

For seven years, Dr. Scott Lee, the only full-time gynecologist at the California Institution for Women in Chino, allegedly abused incarcerated women under his care.

A newly filed civil lawsuit by six former prisoners accuses Lee of coercing patients into unnecessary and painful examinations while prison officials ignored red flags and prior complaints. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has faced repeated allegations of systemic sexual abuse in its women’s prisons. This case comes amid a federal investigation into civil rights violations at both the Chino facility and another prison in Chowchilla that we have been talking about on this page.

The lawsuit details disturbing allegations, including forced pelvic exams, coercive medical procedures, and retaliation against women who resisted Lee’s authority. One plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe #1, recounted how Lee performed a painful and unnecessary pelvic exam despite her signed refusal. Another woman, Jane Doe #4, was seven months pregnant when she says Lee forcefully examined her despite her protests, leaving her terrified for her unborn child. The lawsuit further alleges, depressingly, that Lee’s behavior was known to medical staff, yet nurses present during these incidents failed to intervene, allowing the abuse to continue unchecked.

The case against Dr. Lee is clearly part of a broader pattern of sexual violence in California’s prisons, with imprisoned women struggling to report abuse due to fear of retaliation and systemic inaction. This cannot go on any longer in 2025.

October 25, 2025 – Light of the World Lawsuit

The Light of the World Church (La Luz del Mundo) is facing mounting legal fallout after years of allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Its leader, Naasón Joaquín García, pleaded guilty in California in 2022 to abusing minors and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Federal prosecutors have since brought racketeering and sex trafficking charges against García, his mother, and other top church officials, accusing them of running a decades-long criminal enterprise that used religious authority and intimidation to coerce victims into sexual acts, forced labor, and financial exploitation.

Survivors are also pursuing justice in civil court. Lawsuits filed in Los Angeles allege the church functioned as a criminal organization that enabled and concealed abuse, with plaintiffs seeking damages for sexual abuse, trafficking, and forced labor. These cases have gained visibility through documentaries on HBO and Netflix, which have amplified survivors’ voices and shown how one of the largest megachurches in the world fostered a culture of silence and control while its leaders preyed on vulnerable followers.

September 23, 2025 – LA County School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

A new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles last week accuses the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) of decades of systemic negligence that allowed a Miramonte Elementary School teacher to sexually abuse children in plain view. The case, brought by former students who are now adults in their 30s, alleges the district repeatedly failed to act on warnings and complaints, leaving vulnerable children unprotected for more than a generation.

According to the complaint, the abuse stretched from the late 1990s into the early 2010s, with a broader pattern of misconduct dating back as far as 1980. Survivors claim that students, parents, and even teachers reported incidents of sexual misconduct for years, including exposure in the classroom and other lewd behavior.

Instead of alerting law enforcement, district administrators allegedly silenced victims, ignored faculty reports, and used tenure protections as a shield to keep the predator teacher in place.

The filing describes disturbing examples of misconduct, including students being given food tainted with bodily fluids, an allegation later substantiated when photographs were discovered in 2011 by a clerk who turned them over to police. Plaintiffs further contend that LAUSD misled investigators by falsely stating that no prior complaints had been made, a horrible thing to do that ultimately delayed accountability and led to continued suffering of elementary school children.

September 17, 2025 – Harvest Christian Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

A new sex abuse lawsuit focuses on Harvest Christian Fellowship, an evangelical network based in Riverside, California.

The complaint alleges that a former pastor abused a minor inside church-operated group homes where the child lived from age eight to sixteen. These residences were presented as safe placements for vulnerable youth. The lawsuit says they became the setting for repeated sexual abuse.

The suit names senior church leaders and alleges that they received credible reports, failed to investigate, failed to remove the staff member, and failed to notify law enforcement or child protection. The claims raise core issues that recur in faith-based litigation: mandatory reporting, negligent hiring and supervision, vicarious liability, and the duty to protect children in residential care.

This case reflects a wider pattern we see across institutions that house or serve minors. The risk is not abstract. It turns on simple questions that have clear answers. Who was supervising the unit that night? What training and background checks were in place? When were prior complaints logged, and to whom? Were parents and authorities told?  The evidence appears to be very strong for the plaintiffs in these cases.

If you lived in a Harvest Christian Fellowship group home, or you have information about similar conduct in these programs, you can speak with a lawyer confidentially about your rights and options. We are reviewing potential claims on behalf of other survivors.

September 15, 2025 – Foster Care Sex Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed on Friday, a family from San Mateo County alleges that their teenage daughter was repeatedly sexually abused while placed in a foster home that had a long history of prior complaints and licensing violations.

The lawsuit names as defendants the County of San Mateo, the State of California, and two private foster care agencies (Family Builders and Aldea, Inc.) along with several individual social workers. According to the complaint, the child, referred to only as Jane Doe, was placed with a foster father who was already under investigation for sexually abusing other children in the home. Despite this knowledge, the agencies failed to remove Jane and even returned her to the same placement after she disclosed abuse.

Jane Doe was abused over a 14-month period. She reported sexual assaults multiple times to therapists and mandated reporters, yet no protective action was taken. Her abuser was eventually arrested and convicted, but only after Jane had suffered prolonged trauma. The lawsuit alleges that county and private agencies had actual knowledge of the risks but acted with deliberate indifference.

The family seeks compensatory and punitive damages, citing violations of the child’s constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and a failure to comply with state-mandated reporting and licensing obligations.

September 5, 2025 – Sierra Vista Hospital Sex Abuse Lawsuits Against UHS

Seven former adolescent patients have filed a civil lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court alleging sexual abuse while they were minors at Sierra Vista Hospital.

The complaint names Sierra Vista Hospital, BHC Sierra Vista Hospital, and corporate parent and frequent flyer sex abuse defendant Universal Health Services, along with eight unidentified staff members. The plaintiffs describe sexual battery, harassment, and voyeurism, including an allegation that a staff member watched a patient shower without consent. They also allege systemic failures in hiring, training, supervision, and mandatory reporting once misconduct was known or suspected.

The lawsuit pleads multiple causes of action, including negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violations of California civil rights protections related to gender-based violence, fraud, and unfair business practices. The plaintiffs seek damages for emotional, psychological, and economic harm, and they contend that what happened reflects broader cultural and oversight problems within UHS behavioral facilities.

 If you or a family member experienced abuse or witnessed misconduct at Sierra Vista Hospital, call us.

September 4, 2025- New LA Detention Center Lawsuits

In a new lawsuit filed yesterday, five men from Los Angeles, California, have sued the County of Los Angeles, alleging that they were sexually abused as minors while confined in the county’s juvenile probation system. The plaintiffs, identified by pseudonyms, claim the abuse occurred over several years at multiple juvenile detention facilities, including Camp Scott, Camp Vernon Kilpatrick, Camp Karl Holton, and several units within the Challenger Memorial Youth Center.

These facilities were operated by the Los Angeles County Probation Department to house youth awaiting adjudication or serving post-adjudication sentences. Plaintiffs allege that during their mandatory confinement, they were repeatedly assaulted by adult staff, who used their positions of authority to isolate, coerce, and abuse them. The misconduct described includes rape, forced oral copulation, groping, forced nudity, and threats of extending the plaintiffs’ incarceration if they resisted.

That evil perpetrators were not the only ones responsible.  The lawsuit powerfully argues that county officials knew or should have known about the abuse, citing prior complaints and a 2008 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, which identified systemic failures across these facilities.

The DOJ found rampant issues such as undertrained staff, failure to report abuse, and an overall lack of safeguards to protect youth. Despite this, the County allegedly failed to take corrective action, enabling the abuse to continue unchecked.

The plaintiffs bring claims for sexual assault and battery, negligence, negligent hiring and supervision, and violations of California’s Bane Act. They are seeking compensatory, punitive, and treble damages, and a jury trial.

September 2, 2025 – Another San Diego Lawsuit

A new lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court against the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility underscores the growing legal and moral fallout from California’s mishandling of abuse in its juvenile detention centers.

This case, brought by two former detainees now in their late twenties, draws a straight line from the sexual abuse they suffered in the early 2010s back to warning signs as early as 2008.

San Diego County was already receiving internal reports about inappropriate behavior by specific guards and medical staff at that time. Rather than taking meaningful action, the county allegedly opted for quiet transfers or no response at all, an approach that all but guaranteed further harm.

As we have been saying, we think San Diego will be the next big settlement domino to fall.

September 1, 2025 – New Los Angeles Catholic School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, a woman from Santa Barbara County, California, alleges that she was sexually abused as a minor by a teacher and coach at St. Joseph High School, a Catholic institution operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The plaintiff, who was approximately 16 to 17 years old at the time, claims that between December 2002 and April 2003, the teacher used his authority and position of trust to groom and sexually abuse her on multiple occasions, including during school hours and on school premises.

The lawsuit asserts that the Archdiocese and the school failed to take reasonable steps to protect the plaintiff, despite allegedly having prior notice of the teacher’s inappropriate conduct toward minors. It further alleges that the teacher had previously groomed another student and that the teacher’s spouse had communicated a warning, but no action was taken. The teacher was later criminally convicted in 2003 for unlawful sexual intercourse, oral copulation with a minor, and dissuading a witness.

The complaint paints a picture of institutional complicity and deliberate suppression of abuse reports, positioning the case not as an isolated failure but as part of a larger pattern of concealment within the Archdiocese’s network. We all know that the Church has an awful history, particularly during this time period, of protecting the institution’s image instead of the safety of minors. This claim has resonance in many recent clergy abuse lawsuits in California.

August 27, 2025 – New Lawsuit Against Fox News

In a new lawsuit filed yesterday, a woman from Georgia has sued Fox Corporation, Fox Cable Network Services, LLC, and multiple security firms and individuals in Los Angeles, California, alleging a broad range of employment-related violations. The plaintiff asserts claims of gender, racial, and sexual discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), as well as whistleblower retaliation under California Labor Code § 1102.5. Additional claims include wrongful termination, negligent supervision and hiring, violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, sex trafficking under 18 U.S.C. § 1591, and both negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The plaintiff alleges she was employed by various entities in Los Angeles County and suffered extensive workplace misconduct. She is seeking over $15 million in economic and non-economic damages. Defendants removed the case to federal court on the grounds of diversity and federal question jurisdiction, citing the plaintiff’s Georgia citizenship and the inclusion of federal sex trafficking claims.

Fox is certainly no stranger to lawsuits of this type.

August 17, 2025 – New LA County School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

A civil lawsuit was filed on Friday in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles (Case No. 26TO24028), alleging serious and sustained abuse against a student attending WISH Academy High School. WISH is a public charter school operating on the campus of Westchester High School under the authority of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The plaintiff, a minor suing under a pseudonym, accuses both the school and the district of failing to act on repeated warnings and reports of racial discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying, and physical assault that escalated over the course of her high school years.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff endured years of verbal and physical abuse, including being sexually harassed and physically attacked on school grounds while staff stood by and failed to intervene. The situation culminated in an October 2024 assault during which she was repeatedly punched in the head and neck despite staff being present in the classroom.

One thing many people do not realize is that physical abuse often travels with sexual abuse because both operate within the same framework of control, intimidation, and power. Perpetrators use physical violence not just to harm, but to silence and isolate, making it harder for victims to resist, report, or even fully process what is happening.

August 15, 2025 – 224 Years for Rodriguez

Gregory Rodriguez was sentenced to 224 years in state prison for the serial sexual abuse of women incarcerated at Central California Women’s Facility.

The sentencing came seven months after his conviction on 64 charges, including rape, forced oral copulation, and sexual battery against multiple women under his custody. The length of the sentence reflects the gravity of the offenses and the number of victims harmed over nearly a decade.

Judge Katherine Rigby, in issuing the sentence, described the abuse as predatory and emphasized the lasting trauma inflicted on survivors who had no ability to escape their abuser due to their incarceration.

Rodriguez used his authority and access to isolate women in areas without surveillance cameras, often coercing them with promises of favors or threats of retaliation. He targeted particularly vulnerable women, including those with addiction issues or mental health needs. One survivor described being offered heroin in place of prescribed medication, leading to an overdose.

The majority of the charged assaults occurred in 2021 and 2022 in the prison’s parole hearing area, a space intended for confidential legal proceedings. But you know it was going on for his entire 27 years there.  Survivors testified in court, describing Rodriguez as manipulative and calculated, and condemned the state prison system for failing to act on repeated warnings.

California’s correctional institutions, including the CIW in Chino, Folsom, Chowchilla,  and the former FCI Dublin, have long failed to protect women from predatory staff. The Rodriguez sentencing brings a degree of personal accountability, but the institutional failures that enabled him remain deeply embedded.

July 2, 2025 – Claremont Pays $2.9 Million to Settle Police Sexual Assault Lawsuit

The City of Claremont agreed to pay $2.9 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by former Claremont police officer Gabriel Arellanes while in custody. The lawsuit, filed under the pseudonym “Jane Doe,” claimed that Arellanes arrested her on February 16, 2024, after finding a methamphetamine pipe in her car.

While transporting her to another station for a search, Arellanes allegedly stopped multiple times to grope her and later pressured her to perform oral sex at the Pomona Police Department. After booking her at the Claremont station, he offered her a ride to the Montclair Transit Center and, according to the complaint, forcibly made her perform oral sex in a remote part of the parking lot before leaving her there.  The cruelty of this is hard to imagine.

Arellanes, who joined the Claremont Police Department in 2022, resigned in January 2025 after being placed on leave. He was criminally charged in March with one count of forcible oral copulation and faces up to eight years in prison if convicted. As part of the criminal investigation, the plaintiff submitted physical evidence to investigators, including clothing with biological material and a note that Arellanes had written with his phone number.

July 1, 2025 – Clovis Unified School District Sex Abuse Lawsuit

Five women have sued the Clovis Unified School District in Fresno County, alleging that school officials ignored years of warnings about a second-grade teacher who sexually abused students in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The teacher was eventually arrested in 2012 for producing child pornography and is now thankfully serving a 38-year sentence in federal prison. According to the complaint, the school district failed to act despite multiple reports from students and instead kept the teacher in the classroom, where the abuse continued unchecked.

The lawsuit claims that district administrators not only failed to investigate but also blamed the children and withheld required reports, in violation of mandatory reporting laws. This case adds to a growing wave of lawsuits made possible by California’s expanded statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. The resulting financial pressure has affected districts statewide, many of which now face ballooning liability costs and retroactive insurance premiums. Plaintiffs argue that the school district’s inaction protected the abuser at the expense of student safety.

June 27, 2025 – Los Padrinos Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed yesterday, more than seventy former juvenile detainees brought claims against Los Angeles County stemming from widespread sexual abuse at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, located at 7285 Quill Drive in Downey, California. The plaintiffs allege they were subjected to repeated acts of sexual assault, harassment, and molestation while confined at the facility, which the Los Angeles County Probation Department operates.

The complaint states that abuse was perpetrated by both staff and fellow detainees, and was enabled by systemic failures in supervision, training, and accountability. Plaintiffs assert that county officials were aware—or should have been aware—of the risks and specific instances of misconduct, but failed to intervene or implement protective safeguards.

Los Padrinos settlements were a big part of the $4 billion settlement reached earlier this year to compensate survivors of childhood sexual abuse in California’s juvenile halls.

The current plaintiffs now join a new wave of litigation, alleging egregious conduct and institutional neglect at one of the most cited facilities in the settlement.

June 17, 2025 – New Los Angeles School Settlements Piling Up

The Los Angeles Unified School District has authorized up to $500 million in bonds to address a flood of sexual abuse claims filed by survivors under California’s Assembly Bill 218. This move comes in response to nearly 370 claims, many involving abuse dating back to the 1940s, brought by adults who were victimized as children in LAUSD schools.

Rather than confronting these cases through budget cuts that would immediately impact current students, the district will stretch payments over 15 years. Still, over $300 million has already been paid out this fiscal year, a testament to both the scale of harm and the legitimacy of survivors’ longstanding grievances.

At the end of the day, these bonds, while a ton of money, represent a societal investment in righting historical wrongs. Survivors’ voices are finally being heard, and the LA school system has to do what is right.

June 16, 2025 – New Los Angeles School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed yesterday, a Los Angeles woman filed suit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), alleging that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a minor by a teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School.

The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe M.K., brings claims under California law for damages related to childhood sexual abuse that occurred when she was approximately 11 to 12 years old.

The plaintiff claims she was abused in 1996 and 1997 by a teacher identified in the complaint. The man was her special education teacher. The lawsuit alleges the sexual abuse occurred multiple times on school grounds and that LAUSD administrators and staff received prior complaints about the teacher’s behavior but somehow failed to intervene or report the suspected abuse, thereby breaching their statutory and common law duties.

June 6, 2025 – New Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuit

The Uber sexual assault MDL is based in California, and there are a disproportionate number of claims from California.  In a new lawsuit filed today, a woman from San Jose, California, has sued Uber in the MDL, alleging she was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver in Miami, Florida, on or around June 11, 2021, while using the ride-sharing platform.

Jane Doe asserts a range of claims adopted from the MDL’s Master Long-Form Complaint, including negligence, fraud, emotional distress, breach of Uber’s non-delegable duty as a common carrier, and several theories of vicarious liability and product liability. The complaint alleges systemic failures by Uber in driver screening, platform design, and safety protocols that enabled the attack. The plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages and has demanded a jury trial.

May 28, 2025 – Los Angeles Juvenile Hall Sex Abuse Lawsuits

Our lawyers are again accepting Los Angeles juvenile detention center sex abuse lawsuits for victims currently under age 40.

May 27, 2025 – New Los Padrinos Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed today, a man from Downey, California, has brought claims against the County of Los Angeles and several of its officials and employees, alleging systemic civil rights violations arising from repeated sexual assaults by a psychiatric social worker while he was detained at Los Padrinos Detention Center.

The plaintiff, who was detained at Los Padrinos Detention Center under the supervision of the Los Angeles County Probation Department, accuses a psychiatric social worker employed by the County’s Department of Mental Health of exploiting her position to sexually assault him repeatedly between September 2024 and February 2025. The complaint asserts that this conduct was enabled by the County’s longstanding failure to enforce, train, and, most importantly, monitor staff under its own anti-abuse policies.

This case underscores the sex abuse problems at Los Padrinos have not been resolved.

May 18, 2025 – New Los Padrinos and Central Juvenile Hall Lawsuits

In a new lawsuit filed Thursday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, multiple survivors have brought claims against the County of Los Angeles, alleging they were sexually abused as minors while detained at Los Padrinos and Central Juvenile Hall, facilities operated by the county’s Probation Department. The plaintiffs, including male and female former detainees, proceed under pseudonyms due to the sensitive nature of their allegations.

The complaint alleges widespread and systemic sexual abuse by staff members, including guards and probation officers, for years. The plaintiffs contend that the county failed in its duty to supervise, hire, train, and retain competent staff and knowingly allowed abusive employees to maintain positions of authority over vulnerable children. Allegations include rape, molestation, harassment, coercion, and threats—conduct that the plaintiffs argue was enabled by a culture of impunity within the juvenile detention system.

The lawsuit sets forth causes of action for negligence, negligent supervision of minors, failure to warn/train, and violations of California’s Bane Act. It also outlines failure to comply with the Penal Code’s mandated reporting laws. Plaintiffs cite decades of documented failures, including findings from the U.S. Department of Justice and recent state investigations, demonstrating a pattern of misconduct and institutional indifference.

May 16, 2025 – New School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court, a woman has brought claims against Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, the Congregation of Holy Cross, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The plaintiff, who is now forty years old and resides in California, alleges that she was sexually assaulted by a fellow student while attending Notre Dame High School as a minor in the 9th and 10th grades.

The complaint asserts that the institutions named as defendants failed in their duty to protect her from foreseeable harm while she was under their care. Specifically, her sex abuse lawyers bring claims for negligence, negligent supervision and failure to warn, negligent failure to train or educate, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit contends that the defendants knew or should have known of the risks posed by the perpetrator, a male student, and that their collective failure to supervise and protect her directly led to her harm.

According to the filing, the plaintiff argues that the defendants had a unified interest and operational overlap, collectively managing and controlling the school environment in which the abuse occurred. She further alleges that allowing the defendants to maintain a facade of corporate separation would perpetuate fraud and allow evasion of accountability.

April 18, 2025 – Troubling New Bill

A new bill in the California Legislature is drawing fierce opposition from child protection advocates, who warn that it would severely undermine the rights of child sexual abuse survivors. Senate Bill 832, sponsored by state lawmakers, proposes to raise the legal standard of proof in revived child sex abuse cases, requiring survivors to present “clear and convincing corroborating evidence” to receive compensation, even for non-punitive damages.

Critics argue that SB 832 represents a direct attack on the progress made by AB 218, the landmark 2019 law that opened a three-year revival window for survivors to file claims previously barred by the statute of limitations. SB 832 would make it significantly harder for survivors—many of whom delay disclosure for decades due to trauma—to succeed in court, especially in cases where no physical evidence remains.

The bill also bars courts from relying solely on a survivor’s testimony, despite overwhelming research showing that delayed disclosure and lack of documentation are hallmarks of childhood sexual abuse. Advocates warn the bill would silence survivors, shield public institutions from liability, and dismantle hard-won avenues to justice.

SB 832 is a regressive measure that prioritizes the reputations of schools, churches, and other state-run entities over the safety and dignity of children.

The bill is currently under review in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is unlikely to go anywhere but it is still disturbing.

April 10, 2025 – Modesto LDS Sex Abuse Case Part of Statewide Surge in Claims