San Diego Juvenile Detention Sex Abuse Lawsuit
Sexual abuse of minors within San Diego’s juvenile justice system has been a widespread and documented issue for decades. If you or a loved one experienced sexual abuse at a San Diego juvenile detention center, even if it was years ago, you have legal rights and options for pursuing justice and compensation.
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Author: Kathryn Kosmides
- San Diego juvenile detention centers have faced numerous sexual abuse allegations, with lawsuits filed against facilities like Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, Camp Barrett, and Juvenile Ranch Facility.
- Survivors of juvenile detention sexual abuse have legal rights under California law, including extended civil statutes of limitations for filing claims.
- Reporting abuse to law enforcement is a crucial step in building a case and ensuring accountability for abusers.
- Seeking legal representation can help survivors navigate the complexities of filing lawsuits and pursuing justice.
- Local organizations, such as the Center for Community Solutions and San Diego Family Justice Center, offer support services for survivors.
Overview of Juvenile Detention Centers in San Diego
After California passed a new law in 2019 that significantly extended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits, more and more survivors of juvenile detention center sexual abuse in San Diego County are coming forward to seek justice. San Diego County currently has three primary juvenile detention facilities that remain in operation, while several others have closed in recent years as the state pivoted from focusing on detention to rehabilitation. Each facility is operated by the San Diego County Probation Department.
East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility
446 Alta Road #6100, San Diego
East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility is a secure juvenile facility in the Otay Mesa are that serves as the primary booking facility for all juvenile detentions in San Diego County. The facility has 290 beds across ten units and offers minors medical and behavioral health care, education, substance abuse services, and more.
Girls Rehabilitation Facility
2861 Meadow Lark Drive, San Diego
San Diego’s Girls Rehabilitation Facility, located next to the Juvenile Courthouse, provides services for medium to high-risk girls aged 13 to 18. The facility, which has 33 beds, offers a 10-12 week program with drug and alcohol treatment, family counseling, education, and gender-specific programs for self-esteem, sex ed, and mentoring.
Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility
2801 Meadow Lark Drive, San Diego
The Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, now known as the Youth Transition Campus, is a 24-hour maximum security juvenile detention facility in San Diego County. The facility can accommodate more than 350 minors of any gender who are awaiting assessment under the juvenile justice system.
Camp Barrett (closed)
21077 Lyons Valley Road, Alpine
Camp Barrett was a detention camp hosting juvenile offenders aged 14 to 18 for more than 20 years until its closure in 2018. The facility had the capacity to house 125 boys, but its population declined to less than half of that capacity in its last years.
Juvenile Ranch Facility (closed)
957 Forest Gate Road, Campo
The Juvenile Ranch Facility had two primary facilities, including Rancho del Campo and Rancho del Rayo, until its closure in 2015. The facility provided education and drug treatment, but did not offer treatment for sexual offenders.
Reported Cases of Sexual Abuse in San Diego Juvenile Facilities
As of early 2025, San Diego County is facing lawsuits from at least two dozen alleged victims of sexual abuse in the county’s juvenile detention centers. The plaintiffs say they were sexually assaulted as minors by probation officers while confined in detention facilities, and many faced threats or violence if they attempted to report the abuse. These lawsuits document a systemic failure by San Diego County to protect vulnerable youth from predatory staff. With minimal oversight, less-than-thorough background checks, and little training, the juvenile justice system in San Diego became a haven for sexual predators for years.
Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility
Lawsuits filed against San Diego County regarding abuse at Kearny Mesa involve incidents with probation officers between 1970 and 2022. Kearny Mesa is the most frequently cited juvenile detention facility in these lawsuits, with one plaintiff saying she was assaulted at age 16 by a probation officer and has faced lifelong trauma and depression as a result. Another plaintiff said he was assaulted multiple times while at Kearny Mesa.
Camp Barrett
Though the facility is now closed, Camp Barrett has been the subject of several sex abuse lawsuits, including one from a plaintiff who said he was repeatedly assaulted by two probation officers at age 16 in 2012. The suit alleged that the perpetrators used their positions of power to groom inmates and force them to comply with sexual demands. In late 2022, another survivor filed a lawsuit for alleged rape that occurred while he was incarcerated at Camp Barrett in 2005.
Juvenile Ranch Facility
The Juvenile Ranch Facility has been closed for a decade. While this could be why there have been less lawsuits filed, the one existing lawsuit alleges a then-14-year-old boy was abused by a guard in 1998 at the Rancho del Camp detention center.
Legal Rights and Statutes of Limitations for Survivors in San Diego
In California, civil lawsuits and criminal cases have different purposes and different statutes of limitations. You may be eligible to file a civil lawsuit even if the state does not pursue criminal charges against the perpetrator of the abuse you endured.
California Civil Statutes of Limitations
Under California Assembly Bill 218, survivors of childhood sexual abuse have an extended period to file civil lawsuits. This law, effective from January 1, 2020, allows survivors to file claims until they are 40 years old or within five years of discovering the abuse, whichever is later. Additionally, a three-year “look-back” window permitting previously time-barred claims to be filed expired on December 31, 2022.
California Criminal Statutes of Limitations
In California, the statute of limitations for prosecuting a perpetrator in a child sexual assault case lasts until the victim’s 40th birthday. However, for criminal cases of child sexual assault or rape that occurred after January 1, 2017, there is no statute of limitations.
The Impact of Stogner v. California
Stogner v. California was a 2003 United States Supreme Court ruling that ruled retroactive extensions of the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse offenses are unconstitutional if applied to cases where the original time limit had already expired. This limits the state’s ability to prosecute cases that have previously been time-barred, even in cases of child sexual abuse.
Steps for Seeking Justice
As a survivor of sexual violence, it’s critical to understand your legal rights and options for pursuing justice and compensation, should you choose to do so. Reporting the abuse you experienced can be an important step in the process of filing a civil lawsuit and beginning a criminal case.
Reporting the Abuse
Even if the abuse you endured occurred years or even decades ago, it may still be a good idea to report the abuse to local law enforcement or California’s Child Abuse Hotline at 858-560-2191. This is important for creating documentation of the abuse that can be used when filing a lawsuit.
Consulting Legal Counsel
If you or a loved one survived sexual abuse while detained in a San Diego juvenile detention center, it can be helpful to consult with an experienced sexual abuse attorney to help understand your legal options and navigate the complexities of the legal system. At Helping Survivors, we connect survivors of sexual violence with law firms that can file civil lawsuits against the individuals and institutions that enabled their abuse, allowing survivors to recover compensation and seek justice for the suffering they endured. To be connected with an experienced legal advocate, contact Helping Survivors today.
Resources for Survivors in San Diego
- The Center for Community Solutions is a San Diego-based nonprofit organization dedicated to ending sexual violence and supporting survivors of abuse.
- The San Diego Family Justice Center provides comprehensive, confidential services to anyone who has experienced sexual violence.
- California’s Child Abuse Hotline can be reached at 858-560-2191 24 hours a day, seven days a week to report suspected child abuse.
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