Pierce County approves $7M in settlements to children abused at Remann Hall
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- Pierce County Council approved seven settlements totaling over $7 million.
- Claims allege staff engaged in prolonged sexual abuse and torture of detained children.
- County settled after fact-finding; more than 100 related cases filed in Pierce County.
The Pierce County Council has voted to approve eight settlement claims totaling more than $7 million to people who alleged they were sexually abused as children while detained at the county’s juvenile detention center, Remann Hall, in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
The council approved settlement claims for $1.75 million, $1.5 million, $1.3 million, $1 million, $750,000, $550,000 and $170,000 on Nov. 14. The News Tribune will not name the recipients because they are the victims of sexual abuse. An eighth settlement for $195,000 was approved by the council on Nov. 18.
In the claims for damages, eight victims alleged Pierce County and other agencies failed to protect them from a “culture of sexual abuse and degradation at Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center” by “failing to hire qualified staff.” The county instead hired staff “who knowingly engaged in rampant sexual abuse of these child prisoners” despite obligations to report staff abuse and protect children in their care, according to the claims.
The claims describe “unthinkable abuse” of children by various corrections officers employed by the county, including prolonged sexual abuse and manipulation, rape, torture, grooming, bullying, assault and threats of harm or longer sentences. At the time of the abuse, the victims were 10, 12, 13 or 14, according to the claims. All had lasting trauma.
The children “had no way to leave these abusive environments” and “did not know, and had no reason to know, of the County’s negligence in failing to protect [them] from sexual predators while in the County’s custody as a minor,” the claims said.
Interim communications director Connor Davis said the county takes the claims “very seriously.”
“Many counties around the state, and the State itself, are dealing with similar juvenile detention claims. Every claim that comes in is being evaluated individually and thoroughly,” Davis said in a statement Friday. “When there is credible evidence of past harms, we want to be clear-eyed and realistic about that.”
The settlements approved Friday were reached after fact-finding and negotiations between the county and plaintiffs’ counsel, Davis said. The funds will come out of the county’s “risk pool,” not the General Fund, he said.
“We appreciate the sensitivity with which Pierce County has handled these claims, and we appreciate that, unlike many other government entities, they are not wasting time and money on defense costs for cases that are indefensible,” Vanessa Oslund told The News Tribune on Friday. Oslund is a partner and lead attorney with Seattle law firm Oslund Udo Little, which represented the victims. “We think that Pierce County is doing the right thing here.”
Davis said there are more than 100 related cases currently filed with the county, most of them dating back to the 1990s or earlier.
“The state Legislature and state Supreme Court have lifted or expanded statute of limitations on these kinds of cases, resulting in high numbers of new claims,” Davis said. “In the decades since many of these claims originated, the state and local governments have adopted new policies and laws to improve the safety and well-being of young people in their care and custody.”
Editor’s note: The article has been updated to include settlements awarded to eight victims.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM.
