Orange County will pay $4.5 million to settle a claim that the OC Social Services Agency failed to report a 2011 child abuse complaint to police, a failure the lawsuit said allowed alleged abuse to continue for six years.
The payout, which the OC Board of Supervisors agreed to in closed session on Tuesday, July 25, comes more than a decade after a county social worker discounted a mother’s allegation that her two children, then 5 and 1 year old, were being abused by Alex Beltran, a family friend on their father’s side.
The mother later filed suit, saying the social worker’s decision led to the abuse continuing until 2018. Beltran later was arrested and charged with 26 counts of sexually abusing several minors. Beltran pleaded not guilty in 2021 and the case is still ongoing.
Christopher Taylor, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the family had lost faith in the social welfare system and the payout “makes them hopeful this won’t happen to anyone else.” The settlement money will allow the children to seek psychological help.
“The conclusion of this case, which took six years to litigate, makes plaintiffs and their mother hopeful the young men can now live as thriving teenagers instead of victims,” Taylor said in an email.
Supervisors agreed that compensation was warranted.
“I voted to settle because I think the bureaucratic failure to cross-report to law enforcement could have caused harm,” Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley said, adding that since then much has changed within the OC Social Services Agency and California to better protect children.
“What I want to see, always, is that we protect kids. When we have complaints that we thoroughly investigate, that we cross-report when there is a suspicion of child abuse and that we make sure that the law enforcement investigate if necessary.”
It’s unclear if other victims were molested by Beltran after the social worker didn’t act on the 2011 complaint. But Foley said the board…
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