The Brief

In what is the largest settlement in L.A. County history, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a $4 billion payout for thousands of people who said they were sexually abused as children while in the county’s care.

The landmark settlement may also be one of the largest — if not the largest — in a sex abuse case in U.S. history, according to the attorneys.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in 2021, and grew to include claims against several county departments, including Probation, Children and Family Services, Parks and Recreation, Health Services, Sheriff and Fire.

The claims were filed against the county under a change to state law that went into effect in 2020 that waived the statute of limitations on such cases and allowed victims of childhood sexual abuse to come forward within a three-year window.

Some of the claims date as far back as 1959, with most being from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Some are alleged to have happened at Probation Department facilities and at the MacLaren Children’s Center, which closed in 2003.

The county said investigations into those claims are ongoing, and two cases have been referred to the district attorney for possible prosecution.

The supervisors issued a joint statement, saying its members acknowledged the suffering of all who were victimized by “these deplorable acts.”

“No child should ever be subjected to sexual abuse — and that is particularly true of the vulnerable young people entrusted to the County’s care,” the statement read.

Comments from survivors

About 7,000 people who claimed they were abused by county employees are expected to receive a portion of the settlement.

“This is the largest sex assault settlement in U.S. history —- bigger than Boy Scouts or Catholic Church, " said Todd Becker, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. "It is also the largest settlement of any kind by a county in U.S. history."

Adam Slater, another attorney in the case, said the people abused by county workers have had to deal with a lifetime of consequences, and he hopes the settlement brings “some measure of closure.”

Some of them spoke during Tuesday’s public meeting and shared their feelings about what happened to them.

Scott Brougham, now 64, said he “went through hell” when he was held in a L.A. County juvenile hall starting when he was 14.

“If you want to know who the victims are, we’re still here,” Brougham said. “And there should be accountability.”

Another speaker — who called into the meeting and gave his name only as John Doe — stressed that while the amount of the settlement may be unprecedented, it isn't the point.

“We were children, we were not a number, we were not a line item on a budget report,” the man said. “We were children.”

The county has said that monetary awards from the settlement to individual claimants will be determined and administered by an independent team of experts.

Impacts from the settlement

Calling it "the costliest financial settlement in the history of L.A. County," local authorities said in a news release earlier this month that it would have a "significant" impact on the county budget for years to come. The money is expected to come from reserve funds, judgment obligation bonds and cuts in departmental budgets.

The county expects to make annual payments through fiscal year 2050-51.

Becker, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said the settlement was based on "seeking justice for thousands of victims dating back to 1959, and at the same time were focused on affordability for the county in keeping them out of bankruptcy.”

On Tuesday, the supervisors acknowledged the financial impact of the settlement, but stressed a need for change within county systems.

“To meaningfully arrest this systemic issue, we’re going to have to lean in hard,” Supervisor Holly Mitchell said before the vote. ”A financial payout is one thing, but eventually everyone wants this behavior to stop.”

Supervisor Janice Hahn said department heads need to be held accountable to be sure this behavior doesn’t continue. She recommended the county look into options to immediately fire and pull county pensions for employees who are found to have committed sexual assault.

Hahn also noted that some improper, possibly criminal, abuses of power have continued among some members of county staff. She noted that the District Attorney's Office has filed charges against 30 probation officers accused of instigating fights between minors at county juvenile halls.

The county has said the Department of Children and Family Services and the Probation Department have made policy changes and reforms in recent years and are working to institute more. Some would require legislative changes, the county added.

Some of the proposed reforms include:

• Creating a countywide hotline for reporting child sexual abuse allegations against county employees.
• Developing a system to expedite investigations and conduct independent review by outside experts.
• Enhancing county policy so it can take immediate action, including termination and referral to law enforcement, when allegations of child sexual abuse committed by an employee are substantiated.

A brothel operating from more than 30 locations in residences and hotels across California has been shut down, according to authorities.

On Friday, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of two Hacienda Heights residents, Kebin Dong and Wei Nie, on charges of pimping, pandering and conspiracy.

The two allegedly owned and operated a website offering sex services. The investigation found more than 60 profiles of women posted on the site.

Earlier this week, law enforcement officials from multiple agencies searched several suspected brothel sites in both Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Bail for the two suspects is set at $200,000 each.

Topline:

Why it matters: Wasserman has been under fire for racy emails he exchanged decades ago with Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex trafficker and the ex-girlfriend of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The emails were made public as part of the release of millions of documents related to Epstein by the Justice Department in January.

Why now: In a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Wasserman told his staff that he had "become a distraction" to the work of the high-profile talent agency that he founded more than two decades ago.

In recent days, a number of artists — including musician Chappell Roan — have said they are cutting ties with the Wasserman agency.

Background: Critics have also called for Wasserman to resign as head of LA28, the nonprofit and organizing body behind the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Earlier this week, the board of LA28 expressed support for Wasserman.

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The Los Angeles Unified School Board will vote Tuesday on a plan to eliminate jobs as the district contends with several years of spending more money than it brings in.

The reduction in force (RIF) vote is the first step in a monthslong process that could result in layoffs at the district’s central office and schools.

In meeting materials posted late Friday night, the district proposed issuing notices to thousands of employees and closing hundreds of additional positions at the central office.

The move would save approximately $250 million, part of an overall $1.4 billion “fiscal stabilization plan.”

“Even with approval,” the plan states, “with available reserves already being fully utilized, further reductions will be necessary based on the multi-year projections.”

Why is the board voting on potential job cuts?

For the past two years, the district has relied on reserves to backfill a multi-billion-dollar deficit. That deficit comes as enrollment has declined steeply but expenses have not.

There are more than 40% fewer students compared to the early 2000s. At the same time, as costs have increased, the district has not closed schools or significantly reduced staff. LAUSD hired more staff to support students during the pandemic, and now the federal relief dollars that initially funded those positions are gone.

What’s in the plan?

Reductions in force are proposed for several categories including “un-funded” positions, central office staff and at schools that support higher needs students.

The RIF proposal would:

• Authorize notices to about 2,600 certificated and classified contract management employees and certificated administrators (e.g. teachers, counselors, etc.).
• Close 657 central office and centrally funded classified positions. More than a third of these are IT technicians, by far the largest group.
• Reduce hours for 52 positions.
• Reduce pay for 22 positions.

“In total this represents less than 1% of the total Los Angeles Unified workforce,” the materials note.

It is unclear how many positions included in the proposed reduction in force will ultimately result in people being laid off. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in a previous board meeting that a RIF did not guarantee layoffs, as staff could be reassigned to other positions or given the opportunity to transfer schools.

The district's budget outlook could also change as employees retire or move to jobs elsewhere, etc.

What happens now? 

LAUSD must vote on the reduction in force before March 15, the deadline for California school districts to notify staff they may be laid off. Decisions have to be finalized by the end of June.

In a letter sent earlier this month, the unions representing LAUSD teachers, support staff and principals asked the board to delay the RIF vote until there is more information available about state funding and the public has more time to understand the proposed cuts.

United Teachers Los Angeles members recently gave their leadership the power to call a strike if the union can’t reach a contract deal with the district.

How can I weigh in?

The board meets Tuesday at 10 a.m. Registration for public comment opens Monday at 9 a.m. Speakers can comment by phone or in person and are generally limited to two minutes.

You can also email all board members here or find your individual representative below or leave a voicemail message at (213) 443-4472, by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting .

In case you haven’t heard, a 3-year-old, female gray wolf was found last week near Lancaster.

Experts say it's the first time we’ve seen one of these carnivores in L.A. County in a century.

The young gray wolf is officially tagged as BEY03F. But Paula Ficara, executive director of the Apex Protection Project, has a better name.

“Everyone has decided to call her bae, which is really cute because that’s her number: B-E-Y. So for Valentines she can be your Bae: B-A-E,” Ficara said with a chuckle.

Ficara’s nonprofit has the mission of protecting captive-born wolves and wolf dogs, as well as wolves in the wild. They have a sanctuary in Acton, where 23 wolves live.

She said people have had a lot of questions about BEY: Is she sick? Is she a lone wolf?

“The truth is that ... the wolves are coming down. They’re migrating naturally back to their original habitat. ... She’s a young adult and she’s decided to go off in the hopes of starting her own family,” Ficara said.

It’s not impossible but unlikely that she’ll find a mate this far south. Ficara said she’s likely to go back home to Northern California if she can’t spot a partner within a couple weeks or so.

Steve Wastell, Ficara’s husband of 30 years and director of operations at Apex, explained their biggest concern while the wolf is in L.A. County.

“The last wolf that came down, almost this far, on his way back up, ended up being hit by a car. So that’s one of the biggest things that could happen to her,” Wastell said.

A male gray wolf, OR93, traveled as far down as Ventura County in 2021. But sadly, the wolf was hit by a vehicle and killed along Interstate 5 in Kern County.

It's part of the reason why Ficara and Wastell started the "Wolf Crossing" campaign. They’re encouraging people to post homemade wolf crossing signs at wildlife corridors, trailheads and other places where roads meet wild.

“Obviously, not everyone is going to slow down on the highway. But just to bring a little more awareness that there may be a wolf crossing,” Wastell said.

One of their first wolf crossing participants? A group of school-age kids who stopped by the sanctuary recently to learn about wolves and make a sign of their own to post in their area.

“They had just met most of our wolves here, face to face. And they were super excited about protecting and super excited about this wolf being down here. So they were like, 'Yeah, let's do it!'” Wastell said.

Wastell and Ficara are encouraging everyone to make a sign and post to social media in the hopes it will make L.A. a little more hospitable for our visitor from the north.