Riverside County has agreed to pay more than $4.2 million to two siblings who alleged they were sexually abused in their foster home by another foster child. Court records identify the boy as T.B.; he was placed in October 2021 with 8-year-old D.W. and his 4-year-old sister, J.R. The lawsuit says the abuse began soon after the placement and continued for about three months before it was discovered.
The complaint alleged county social workers did not fully disclose T.B.’s documented history of sexual abuse by a family member and sexualized behavior before placing him with the siblings, leaving the foster mother unaware of the alleged risk, according to sbsun.com. Riverside County's Redlands Daily Facts first reported the settlement, signed Sept. 11. The county admitted no liability.
The lawsuit also describes concerns raised before the children disclosed the abuse. About three weeks after T.B. arrived, the foster mother gave Riverside County and Knott's Family Agency 14 days' notice demanding his removal, according to the same sbsun.com report. A Dec. 27, 2021, contact note reportedly said T.B. continued to scare the other children and would hump the air. The complaint further alleged that the foster mother's repeated texts asking social workers to find him another placement went unanswered.
Disclosures That Finally Triggered Removal
The children’s disclosures and T.B.’s removal On Jan. 16, 2022, D.W. told his foster mother that T.B. had sexually assaulted him orally and anally, the lawsuit states. The complaint alleged the assaults began soon after T.B.’s arrival and happened repeatedly until he was removed. In a forensic interview, J.R. said T.B. had touched her private parts and peeked at her while she was changing, according to the same sbsun.com account. T.B. was removed from the home on Jan. 19, three days after D.W.’s disclosure.
The siblings filed suit in January 2023, alleging negligence and breach of mandatory duties by county social workers. Their attorney, Jack Anthony, called the settlement fair and said it could give the children opportunities they might not otherwise have. He said D.W. and J.R. have since been adopted and are doing well with their new parents. Attorney C.L. Lopez said the settlement could be a step toward healing for those affected.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Costly Settlements
This case is not an isolated one for Riverside County's child welfare system. Since 2019, the county has settled nearly $7 million in sexual abuse lawsuits tied to three foster children who alleged abuse by convicted child rapist David Jakubowski in different foster homes in 2013 and 2015, per sbsun.com. Jakubowski was convicted in March 2016 of two counts of child rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A case involving two siblings who alleged Jakubowski abused them in a Hemet foster home in 2013 settled for nearly $4 million in September 2024, the outlet reported. Earlier settlements tied to a different 2015 Riverside placement have been described inconsistently across reporting — sbsun.com put that December 2019 settlement at nearly $3 million, while the Press-Enterprise reported the same victim's separate lawsuit settled for $2.9 million in November 2019. Attorney Shawn McMillan, who represented plaintiffs in the Jakubowski cases, said he has also settled two additional Riverside County cases involving three of Jakubowski's former foster brothers, though he could not specify those amounts because they were still being finalized.
Riverside County's foster care system has faced scrutiny well beyond the Jakubowski cases. Earlier this year, the county and ChildNet agreed to a $13.5 million settlement with six siblings from the Turpin family, who were placed in an abusive foster home, with the county paying $2.25 million and ChildNet covering $11.25 million, according to U.S. News. Riverside County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said that case prompted increased coordination between child welfare and law enforcement agencies and growth in the number of trained social workers. NBC Los Angeles reported the reforms also included boosted CPS staffing, lower per-agent caseloads, and improved interagency communication.
What state guidance and county reviews establish
California Department of Social Services Resource Family Approval directives say prospective caregiver assessments must consider their understanding of children’s needs, safety, permanence and well-being, including children who have experienced abuse or neglect. That guidance, on its own, does not establish what workers shared with the foster mother or what they did in this case. In a separate 2022 review, Riverside County said its Children’s Services Division and Office of the Public Guardian were severely understaffed, resulting in overwhelming caseloads; the review was not a finding about this lawsuit. The reviewed material does not establish which safeguards were adopted in response to the Turpin case or when. Sources: California Department of Social Services and Riverside County.
Similar abuse settlements have surfaced elsewhere in California. Sacramento County agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging a child was sexually assaulted while in foster care in the 1990s, according to the Sacramento Bee. In the Central Valley, Fresno County and Proteus Foster Family Agency agreed to pay $2.5 million to three sisters who alleged repeated abuse by a foster parent, per the Fresno Bee.
Riverside County says it remains committed to preventing abuse and ensuring children's health, safety and well-being, and encourages anyone who suspects abuse or neglect to report it through its child abuse hotline at 800-442-4918.
