Child welfare workers ignored rampant sexual, physical abuse at Boys Village group homes in Ellensburg and Seattle.
The State of Washington has agreed to pay $10.5M to settle lawsuits brought by four men who suffered horrendous sexual and physical abuse at Boys Village group homes in Ellensburg and Seattle. The settlement was announced by Darrell Cochran, co-founding partner at PCVA Law and the lead attorney in the case.
Boys Village was a group home for psychologically and behaviorally disturbed children founded in 1969 in Ellensburg. Founder Warren Conley was arrested in the early 1970’s on multiple charges stemming from child abuse at the facility, but state child welfare workers responsible for overseeing their care allowed it to continue operating.
According to Cochran, “DSHS knew about it, DSHS did not close this home, and inconceivably allowed it to expand its operations. The children who were placed at Boys Village were typically between six and 14 years old, and they walked into an environment that was rife with sexual abuse.”
Investigations revealed staff members would take the children into showers and a quiet padded room to abuse the children.
Cochran said “it was so quiet and so padded that no one from the outside would know that they were sexually abused. That is, no one from the outside would know if you weren’t paying attention or even following the police blotter, because Warren Conley and others were literally arrested for abuse of kids.
Reflecting on the $10.5M settlement, Cochran stated “Boys Village is emblematic of the fact that these group homes that DSHS was using in the seventies, eighties, nineties and 2000’s were absolute houses of horror.”
“We’ve now litigated against 20 some odd group homes that DSHS has licensed and put kids at, and every single one of them had horrific sexual abuse involved. And I sit here and think about ‘were there any that were therapeutically helpful and nurturing to kids?’ And for the life of me, I can’t think of a single one.”
While the settlement ends the case for these four victims, dozens of other boys also suffered abuse at Boys Village over the decades the facilities operated.
“One of our primary goals with each of these group home cases is to make sure that we reveal the horrors that have happened. Boys Village was a hell hole. We know you suffered,” Cochran said.
“And I can tell you from a lot of experience that people who come forward after they realize they were not alone, feel better. They feel like they’ve confronted their demons by bringing a claim. And that’s what we do for people, is help them file their own claim, help them express what happened to them and get the help they need and deserve to overcome their adversity, to take on the wrongdoers, and expose the perpetrators.”
About PCVA Law
At Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, we are proud to be one of the leading law firms in the United States fighting for the rights of sexual abuse survivors, representing more than 1,000 people who have filed lawsuits under the Child Protective Services (CPS), Child Victims Act, and Adult Survivors Act as well as many more people who are survivors of abuse and injury in Washington, New York, and California.
If you or someone you know has been or is believed to be the victim of sexual abuse while in the care of an institution, we encourage you to speak to a PCVA lawyer for free by completing our confidential online form or calling us at (253) 777-0799.
Our Case Results
PCVA has a lengthy history of pursuing damages for individuals who were put into the foster care system and experienced child sexual abuse at the hands of approved foster parents. This includes cases involving Child Protective Services (CPS) failure to thoroughly investigate claims of abuse or neglect, a lack of oversight, or allowing unqualified applicants to become foster parents. See below for links to some of our case results involving improper foster care treatment in the states of Washington, New York, California, and elsewhere. You can see some of our case results here:
$25M Jury Verdict in Sexual Abuse Case Against the State of New Jersey
$16.95M Settlement in Landmark Child Abuse Case Against Washington State
$9.5M Settlement in Sexual Abuse Cases Against University Place School District
$9.35M Settlement for Foster Care Child Sexual Abuse Case Against Washington State
$7.5M Jury Verdict in Sexual Abuse Case Against YMCA
$6.75M Settlement in Sexual Abuse Case Against the State of New Jersey
$3.9M Settlement for a Child Sexual Abuse Case Against the Tahoma School District
See a more detailed list on our Case Results page