Staffer got pregnant after abusing teen at L.A. County youth home, legal claim says

At least two teenage boys were sexually abused by female staff members at Rancho San Antonio, a youth facility in Chatsworth, according to a civil claim filed this week. One staff member became pregnant after engaging in sex with a minor, the claim alleges.

The facility often houses youths who have served time in L.A. County’s juvenile halls before they are released to the public.

Attorney Jamal Tooson said during a news conference Thursday that one employee abused a 15-year-old boy over a five-month span, both at the Chatsworth campus and at the victim’s home while his mother was out. At least one other boy was abused at the facility recently, according to the notice of claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.

The claim states: “This conduct was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of inappropriate and abusive relationships between staff and minors at Rancho San Antonio. Other instances of egregious misconduct at the facility include a staff member becoming pregnant by a minor juvenile while in Rancho San Antonio’s care.”

The victims are under 16, while the staff members are in their late 20s or early 30s, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman confirmed a criminal investigation was launched after the department was notified of the abuse allegations on May 4.

Rancho San Antonio has been under contract with the L.A. County Probation Department since 2008 to house youths transitioning out of juvenile halls.

Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman for the Probation Department, said the agency has stopped all transfers to the facility. “The individuals connected to the allegations were contractors, not Probation Department employees, and are no longer employed at the facility,” Waters said in a statement.

“The Department is and will continue to fully cooperate with an ongoing external law enforcement investigation.”

Tooson said the 15-year-old’s mother had him placed at Rancho San Antonio for help with a mental health issue. He was allowed to go home on weekends, and the alleged abuser “snuck into” the family’s residence during one of those visits.

The victim’s 12-year-old sister was also home at the time. “He was violated by a system that was designed to protect him,” Tooson said.

The second victim is not represented by Tooson, and the lawyer would not say how he learned of the pregnancy described in the legal claim.

The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office said it was looking into “allegations of serious sexual abuses of our clients.” The statement added: “These allegations, if true, reflect serious and ongoing systemic failures in safeguarding youth under the Probation Department’s care and underscore the urgent need for change to ensure that youth are not placed at continued risk.”

The claim names the Probation Department and the L.A. County Department of Child and Family Services as defendants.

A Child and Family Services spokeswoman said the agency does not currently have any foster children at Rancho San Antonio and did not believe any youth in its care were impacted, but said the department was “deeply concerned” about the allegations.

Rancho San Antonio describes itself as a “multi-service non-profit organization that provides both traditional and non-traditional trauma-informed therapeutic services to youth and families.” Calls to the facility seeking comment were not immediately returned on Thursday.

The facility is home to a “Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program,” where youths who have completed their time in juvenile halls are housed in a “step down” setting before release. While a change in state law championed such programs in 2017, concerns have been raised that they are overcrowded and sometimes dangerous.