(The Center Square) – Snohomish County faces a federal lawsuit from 12 formerly incarcerated minors who allege repeated child sexual abuse by staff at two juvenile detention centers in Everett.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, accuses up to 20 guards and staff members of sexually abusing children, some as young as 10 years old.
The plaintiffs say they never learned the names of the employees who harmed them and instead provided physical descriptions of each perpetrator to Snohomish County prior to filing the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman.
“Our community should be shocked and appalled at what the county of Snohomish allowed to happen under its care and supervision,” Hagens Berman founder Steve Berman said in a statement. “Snohomish County had an obligation to protect those in its custody, including youth in detention, and we cannot imagine a more shameful failure of that duty.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the county authorized staff to conduct invasive strip searches, monitor children while they showered, and have unsupervised one-on-one time with plaintiffs, including in their cells and “blind spots” within the jail.
Washington’s 1977 Juvenile Justice Act required all county juvenile facilities to provide a humane and safe environment to inmates. The lawsuit alleges that the act did not change the environment at Snohomish County’s detention facilities.
“Rather than protect these children and teenagers, Snohomish County through its policies and procedures perpetuated a culture of abuse through a variety of harmful practices that harmed the Denney Abused Youth,” the lawsuit states.
The Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told The Center Square in an email that the county is currently reviewing the allegations and will respond in court at an appropriate time.
