$1.8M going to victims of Remann Hall abuse in latest Pierce County settlement
The Pierce County Council has approved another round of settlements to people who were detained at the county’s juvenile detention center, Remann Hall, from the 1970s to the early 2000s. The settlements to four people signed May 26 totaled $1.78 million.
Details about what happened in those cases were not spelled out in the settlement agreements, which were obtained by The News Tribune. The settlement agreements only referred to incidents, which depending on the individual, occurred “on or about 1977-1980,” “on or about 1995-2002,” “on or about 1980-1982” and “on or about the 1990s.” The settlements were for $680,000, $500,000, $350,000 and $250,000.
In the last six months, Pierce County has awarded $9,745,000 to people who alleged they were abused as children while detained at Remann Hall.
Claims for damages regarding a $7 million settlement approved in November 2025 said Pierce County and other agencies failed to protect children 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 described “unthinkable abuse” of children by various corrections officers employed by the county in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, 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, as previously reported by The News Tribune.
The News Tribune has not named the recipients of the settlements, because many are the victims of sexual abuse.
Upon signing the agreements on May 26, the four individuals “hereby release and forever hold harmless the County of Pierce, State of Washington, its current and former officials, officers, agents, assigns, and employed, and specifically the individually-named defendants … from any and all claims whatsoever,” per the agreements.
Interim communications director Connor Davis told The News Tribune in November 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.”
Pierce County is considering renovating Remann Hall, which is aged and has malfunctioning cameras, intercoms and door locks that often require attention, as previously reported by The News Tribune. The county is expected to use revenue from a new 0.1% sales-and-use tax for public safety that was passed in March to fund Remann Hall upgrades.
