He says he was sexually abused at boys ranch in Tacoma. His case is only the latest one
A man alleges he was sexually abused as a child in the 1990s while living at a boys group home based in Tacoma, according to a lawsuit.
The plaintiff, who is identified by his initials in the complaint in Pierce County Superior Court, had been a ward of the state when he resided at the now-defunct Jessie Dyslin Boys Ranch. The suit claims he was forced by a staffer to perform oral sex and had disclosed the abuse to others working at the ranch “on numerous occasions.”
“Nonetheless, the staffers failed to intervene or further report the abuse,” states the lawsuit, which was filed Monday. “Instead, they allowed the sexual abuse to continue.”
The filing alleges that the state ignored evidence of physical, sexual and emotional abuse occurring at the ranch and permitted the facility to remain open. Prior to the alleged abuse against the plaintiff, the lawsuit said, the state either had or should have had “sufficient information” to remove and protect him from his situation and revoke the ranch’s licensing.
An attorney representing the plaintiff did not respond to a request for comment by deadline Tuesday. The state’s Department of Children, Youth and Family Services and Department of Social and Health Services, which are named as defendants, declined to comment.
Mentor House, also known as Gateways for Youth and Families — which had owned and operated the former boys home and is also named as a defendant — previously filed for bankruptcy, according to the lawsuit, which doesn’t specify when. As such, the legal action is seeking damages from Mentor House’s insurance policies only.
Darrell Cochran is an attorney with the firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, which didn’t file this case but has previously filed lawsuits on behalf of alleged victims at the ranch. Cochran told The News Tribune in a text message that the facility closed in the early 2000s. He also said that Gateways for Youth and Families dissolved in 2012 before declaring bankruptcy two years later.
The suit filed Monday was the third this year to allege that residents had been sexually abused at the Jessie Dyslin Boys Ranch, which traced its founding to 1926, court records show. Plaintiffs in the two other cases are represented by another firm. The complaints, filed in January and February, respectively, alleged that sexual abuse was rampant at the ranch for decades and raised claims that stemmed from the late 1970s and mid-1990s.
Those cases are ongoing, and the state has denied allegations against it in each, court records show.
The cases this year represent only the latest scrutiny for the Jessie Dyslin Boys Ranch.
Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala has settled “multiple lawsuits for sexual abuse” on behalf of alleged victims, according to a page on its website dedicated to highlighting issues at the ranch and assisting anyone who wishes to come forward. The firm noted that there were various reasons why victims often don’t immediately divulge being sexually abused, including feeling shame or guilt, fearing not being believed and lacking information.
The firm also said that while its settlements involved claims of abuse that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, abuse at the ranch had occurred as recently as the 2000s.
