Legal Help For Survivors Nationwide
Legal Help For Survivors Nationwide
TL;DR
A 2025 lawsuit has brought decades of alleged sexual abuse at the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center into public view. If you were affected, this page is for you.
We can help answer your questions and connect you with an attorney if you may have a case.
In October 2025, a lawsuit was filed against Spokane County on behalf of fifteen people who say they were sexually abused as children while held at the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center. The alleged abuse spans nearly three decades, from the early 1980s through 2010, and involves staff members who held positions at the facility for years.
The filing is part of a broader wave of accountability across Washington State, where survivors of juvenile detention abuse are coming forward in growing numbers — many for the first time in their lives.
The complaint centers on the conduct of detention center employees who are accused of sexually assaulting children in their custody. The plaintiffs were between the ages of twelve and seventeen at the time. According to the filing, the two staff members named in the suit held long tenures at the facility — one beginning in the early 1980s, the other serving in a supervisory role from the late 1990s through 2016.
Beyond the actions of individual staff, the lawsuit makes a broader claim: that Spokane County itself bears responsibility. The complaint alleges that administrators were aware of warning signs — including complaints and disciplinary issues — and failed to act. Survivors describe an environment where children who tried to report what was happening were ignored or dismissed.
The lawsuit does not treat this as the failure of a few individuals. It alleges that the institution itself created the conditions that allowed the abuse to continue for decades.
The earliest alleged abuse begins at the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center. One of the named staff members starts employment at the facility during this period.
A second staff member joins the facility and is eventually promoted to a supervisory role — a position he holds for nearly two decades.
The last year covered by the allegations in the current complaint.
Fifteen survivors file a civil lawsuit against Spokane County, alleging systemic negligence and more than two dozen individual assaults.
The Spokane County lawsuit is not an isolated event. Across Washington State, survivors of juvenile detention abuse have been coming forward in significant numbers. A separate legal action filed in 2025 represents nearly two hundred plaintiffs alleging abuse at state-run juvenile facilities — with some claims reaching back to the 1960s. Investigative reporting published around the same time documented widespread patterns of staff misconduct and institutional silence across multiple facilities in Washington and neighboring states.
This context matters. It means that what happened in Spokane County was not a one-off failure. It was part of a systemic problem — and survivors across the state are now being heard.
Every person’s situation is different, and only a confidential conversation can determine whether you may have a claim. In general, the current lawsuit involves people who share the following circumstances:
If you have carried this experience for years or decades without telling anyone, that is not unusual. It is one of the most well-documented patterns among survivors of childhood institutional abuse.
Many of the people involved in this lawsuit describe barriers that go beyond the trauma itself: prior involvement with the justice system, a deep distrust of authority, or past experiences of being dismissed when they tried to speak up. Some have dealt with lasting effects on their work, their relationships, and their health.
None of these things disqualify you. None of them make your experience less real. Attorneys who work with survivors of institutional abuse understand this history and do not expect a perfect record or a perfect memory.
Speaking with an attorney for the first time is not a legal commitment. It is a private conversation where you can share what you are comfortable sharing, ask questions, and learn whether you may have options. Here is what you should know:
If you were sexually abused as a child at the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center, what happened to you was a failure of the people and the institution responsible for your safety. You are not alone in coming forward now — and you are not too late.
A confidential conversation is free, private, and entirely on your terms.
You’ve carried this long enough. Let us help you carry it from here. Call for a private consultation or submit your information securely online.
