Juvenile Detention Sexual Abuse Attorneys
Juvenile detention facilities are supposed to protect and rehabilitate children and young people.
We Advocate for Sexual Abuse Survivors
Juvenile detention facilities are supposed to protect and rehabilitate children and young people. They should provide safe housing, education, counseling, and accountability. However, unfortunately, many detainees have suffered sexual abuse and violence in these facilities. Surviving such abuse can leave deep and lasting physical, emotional, and psychological harm. If you or a loved one suffered sexual abuse in a juvenile facility, then you deserve justice and compensation to help you move forward.
At Karns & Karns Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys, we fight for sexual abuse survivors. Our juvenile detention sexual abuse attorneys provide compassionate and relentless advocacy, helping survivors obtain justice and compensation for the harm they endured.
If you are ready to start your journey toward justice and compensation, schedule a free, confidential consultation with us. We are here to listen to your story and answer your legal questions. We will also help you understand your legal rights and options for moving forward.
What Is Juvenile Detention Sexual Abuse?
Sexual abuse in a juvenile hall, camp, detention center, or other youth facility includes any non-consensual sexual contact, conduct, or exploitation involving a person in custody, whether they were a minor or an adult at the time. In California, youth facilities can lawfully house people into early adulthood, so abuse may affect individuals who entered as minors and turned 18 while still in custody.
Consent must be affirmative, voluntary, and revocable. There is no valid consent when a person is underage, incapacitated, coerced, or where a power imbalance exists, such as staff-resident sexual contact.
Sexual abuse in juvenile facilities can involve staff-on-youth offenses and youth-on-youth offenses. Examples of sexual abuse include, but are not limited to:
- Touching or fondling
- Groping
- Forced kissing
- Exhibitionism, or exposing oneself
- Voyeurism
- Sexual exploitation
- Harassment, intimidation, or coercion
- Attempted rape
- Rape
Have you or a loved one experienced any form of sexual abuse in a juvenile facility? If so, you may have a civil claim for compensation. Our firm provides a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case. We will listen to your story, answer your legal questions, and explain your legal rights and options for seeking justice and compensation.
What Legal Rights Do Juvenile Detention Abuse Survivors Have?
If you or a loved one suffered sexual abuse while detained in a juvenile facility, you may have a valid civil claim. A civil lawsuit can hold the perpetrator, as well as any person, facility, or agency that enabled, concealed, or negligently failed to protect you, financially accountable.
For example, you may be entitled to compensation for the following:
- Medical expenses
- Counseling and therapy costs
- Medication and related care
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Physical pain
- Emotional and psychological trauma
- Loss of enjoyment of life
While money cannot undo the harm you have endured, it can help support you in moving forward with your life.
How Long Do I Have to File a Sexual Abuse Claim?
Even if the abuse occurred many years ago, you may still be able to take legal action. California’s statute of limitations for filing a sexual abuse claim varies depending on the circumstances of your case.
A juvenile detention sexual abuse lawyer from our firm can review your case and determine how the statute of limitations applies. We can help you understand your potential legal options during a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation.
Who Is Liable for Juvenile Detention Sexual Abuse?
Liability often extends beyond the individual abuser. Depending on the circumstances of your case, several people and entities may be legally responsible for enabling, ignoring, or failing to prevent abuse against the youth in their care. For example, potentially liable parties may include:
- The individual perpetrator who committed the abuse
- Officers, supervisors, counselors, and other staff members who ignored the abuse or failed to monitor or intervene
- The juvenile facility operator, which is generally a local county agency, for negligent hiring, retention, training, and supervision, or failure to protect
- The state of California, if the abuse occurred in a state-run youth facility overseen by the California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), formerly the California Youth Authority (CYA)
The DJJ effectively closed on July 1, 2023. However, it had a long history of abuse allegations against the state’s most vulnerable. Claims tied to pre-closure abuse may be viable.
An experienced juvenile detention sexual abuse attorney can investigate, identify every responsible party, and pursue justice on your behalf.
Why Choose Our Juvenile Detention Sexual Abuse Attorneys for Your Case?
Karns & Karns Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys stands with and advocates for survivors after some of the most challenging and devastating experiences of their lives. From catastrophic injuries and wrongful death to institutional abuse, these cases demand a trauma-informed, survivor-centered approach backed by extensive legal knowledge and skill.
We are known for our compassionate, yet relentless advocacy. With thousands of cases successfully resolved, we have obtained more than $300 million in settlements and verdicts for our clients. We do not hesitate to stand up to powerful people, institutions, corporations, insurance companies, and government entities.
If we can help you with your case, then we will do everything in our power to support you and obtain the justice and compensation you deserve. From your first confidential consultation through resolution, we will protect your privacy, advocate for you, and fight for accountability and compensation. More so, you pay nothing unless we win.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Juvenile Detention Sexual Abuse Lawyers
If you or a loved one suffered sexual abuse in a juvenile hall, detention center, or other youth facility, you may have a viable claim for compensation. You may be able to hold the perpetrator and other parties that enabled, ignored, or failed to prevent the abuse, financially accountable.
Our team advocates for sexual abuse survivors. If we can help with your case, we will work tirelessly to pursue justice and compensation while protecting your privacy.
Our juvenile detention sexual abuse attorneys provide a free, confidential, and no-obligation consultation to discuss your case. We will listen to your story, answer your questions, and help you understand your rights and options for moving forward. Call us at 1-888-779-1180 or submit our online contact form, and we will contact you soon.
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