Status at a glance
ActiveThis page covers one facility. The settlement as a whole, including its payment schedule, is on our LA County juvenile hall settlement page.
Who may be able to file
Claims about Los Padrinos are brought by people who allege they were sexually abused while held there as minors, against the County that ran it. They fall into two groups that work differently.
The first group is historical. Los Padrinos opened in 1957, and people held there in the decades before it closed in 2019 have sued under AB 218, the 2019 California law that reopened expired childhood sexual abuse claims. In December 2022, according to NBC Los Angeles, a single complaint on behalf of 279 people named Los Padrinos among several County halls and camps, with abuse alleged from the 1970s to about 2020. Claims of that kind are what the County resolved in bulk in 2025. The County describes the two settlements as covering claims from 1959 to 2023 (County announcement, October 17, 2025).
The second group is recent. Since the hall reopened in July 2023, new suits have been reported. In July 2025 NBC Los Angeles reported a federal suit by a young man who alleges he was abused at Los Padrinos from September 2024 to February 2025 by a County mental health worker, naming the County, Probation and the Department of Mental Health. These are allegations; no court has ruled on them, and we do not name the person accused. Abuse alleged in 2024 and 2025 is later than the 1959 to 2023 span the County gives for the claims it settled.
A person who was in County custody but is unsure whether it was Los Padrinos, Central, Nidorf or a camp is in a common position. Children were moved between facilities, and County placement records can usually show where someone was held and when.
Deadlines that apply
California’s deadline for childhood sexual assault claims depends on when the abuse happened. For abuse before 2024, Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1 applies the law as it read on December 31, 2023: generally until age 40, or five years from when the person discovered or reasonably should have discovered that the abuse caused a psychological injury, whichever is later. For abuse on or after January 1, 2024, there is no time limit. Section 340.1(q) says these claims need not first be presented to a government entity, which matters because the defendant here is a county.
A claim about abuse in a federal civil rights suit, like the one reported in 2025, can carry different rules. These are general rules with exceptions, and none of them tells anyone their own date.
The deadlines described here are general rules, and most of them have exceptions. The date that governs a particular claim turns on the state, the person’s age when the abuse happened, when they connected it to the harm it caused, and who the defendant is. A claim against a public agency or a public school can carry a written notice requirement that runs out long before the ordinary deadline.
Nothing on this page can tell you your own date. A lawyer who looks at your facts can, and there is no charge to ask.
What the claims allege
The historical claims describe sexual abuse of youth by staff at County halls and camps over several decades. The County has said that the majority of the claims it settled in April 2025 date from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and are alleged to have happened at Probation Department facilities and at MacLaren Children’s Center (County announcement, April 4, 2025). Its settlement records do not break the claims down by facility, so there is no public count of how many concern Los Padrinos. Every claim described here is an allegation. The County settled without trials, and no court has made findings about any individual claim.
The County’s chief executive said in April 2025: “On behalf of the County, I apologize wholeheartedly to everyone who was harmed by these reprehensible acts.” It has also said its ability to assess the claims “was hampered by a lack of records, the sheer number of cases and court ordered limits on legal discovery,” and it now puts every claim through a written summary under penalty of perjury and a fraud review (County announcement, October 17, 2025).
State findings about conditions since the reopening
The state record since 2023 concerns staffing and conditions, not the sexual abuse claims, but it is the most detailed public account of the hall. The County reopened Los Padrinos after the Board of State and Community Corrections found Central Juvenile Hall and Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall unsuitable on May 23, 2023, and moved youth in on July 18, 2023.
BSCC finds twelve items of noncompliance with state minimum standards, almost all related to staffing.
BSCC’s chair notifies the County that Los Padrinos is unsuitable for failing to submit an approved corrective action plan on staffing, giving it 60 days to stop using the hall.
BSCC says the hall has been out of compliance with its minimum standards during almost every inspection since it reopened (statement).
After the County’s appeals were denied, the BSCC Board determines that Los Padrinos remains unsuitable for housing youth under Welfare and Institutions Code section 209.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge, who had ordered a plan on April 18, approves the County’s plan to reduce the hall’s population. The County said the court had decided the hall “will not be fully depopulated or closed.”
The County moved girls and gender-expansive youth to Campus Kilpatrick in January 2026 and more than 20 young men to Nidorf in August 2026 under the plan. BSCC made an unannounced visit on March 8, 2026.
Dates in the timeline come from BSCC’s historical timeline of Los Angeles County Probation through April 14, 2026 and the County’s releases of May 16, 2025, January 28, 2026 and August 14, 2026. We found no later BSCC suitability decision as of October 8, 2026.
The Attorney General’s case
The California Attorney General has a separate case about conditions in all of the County’s juvenile halls. In January 2021 the state and County agreed to a stipulated judgment in People ex rel. Becerra v. Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Superior Court No. 21STCV01309. The court granted the Attorney General’s motion to enforce it on May 9, 2023, finding the County out of compliance on medical care and staffing among other provisions (Attorney General, May 9, 2023).
On July 23, 2025 the Attorney General asked the court to place the County’s juvenile halls in receivership, saying the County “remains out of compliance with 75% of the provisions of the judgment,” and asked for an order that the County set up “a compensation fund for youth to redress and repair the injuries suffered” (Attorney General, July 23, 2025). The Probation Department said it “fully acknowledges many of the issues raised” but was “deeply concerned with some of the misleading information” in the filing (County, July 23, 2025). BSCC records that the petition was denied on October 10, 2025. News reports in 2026 described that denial as preliminary and the case as still pending; we have not confirmed a final ruling.
On March 3, 2025 the Attorney General announced criminal charges against 30 Los Padrinos detention services officers, including child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy and battery, over 69 fights involving 143 youth between July 1 and December 31, 2023 (Attorney General, March 3, 2025). Those are not sexual abuse charges. Everyone charged is presumed innocent unless convicted, and we do not name anyone charged.
Settlement and compensation status
Historical Los Padrinos claims are part of the County’s AB 218 settlements, which cover claims against the Probation Department along with other departments. On April 29, 2025 the Board of Supervisors approved $4 billion for about 6,800 matters (statement of proceedings), and on October 28, 2025 up to $828 million for about 414 more against Probation and the Department of Children and Family Services (statement of proceedings). Neither record lists facilities, so whether a particular person’s Los Padrinos claim is in one of them is a question for that person’s lawyer.
Awards are not divided evenly. Independent allocators set each one based on factors that include the severity of the abuse alleged. The County pays the $4 billion over five fiscal years from FY 2025-26 and the second settlement over three; on September 29, 2026 it said it could pay the second year’s $1.2 billion without issuing bonds (Supplemental Budget). We do not give payment dates for individual claimants: those run through the allocation process and the claimant’s own lawyer. The full schedule is on the settlement page, and our guide to how settlements are actually paid explains allocation.
Update log
No dated updates are published for this page yet.
Questions we are asked most
The settlement covers claims against the County's Probation Department, which runs Los Padrinos, and the County has said most of the settled claims are alleged at Probation facilities and MacLaren Children's Center (April 4, 2025). The Board's records do not list claims by facility. Whether a particular person's Los Padrinos claim is in the settlement is something their own lawyer can confirm.
Possibly. For abuse before 2024, California generally allows a claim until age 40 or five years from discovering the psychological injury, whichever is later, and for abuse on or after January 1, 2024 there is no time limit (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1). These rules have exceptions, so the only way to know is to have your dates checked.
Yes, according to news reports. In July 2025 NBC Los Angeles reported a federal suit by a young man alleging abuse at Los Padrinos from September 2024 to February 2025 by a County mental health worker. The County said it takes all allegations and complaints seriously. These are allegations, and no court has ruled on them.
There is no separate Los Padrinos settlement. The County pays its $4 billion AB 218 settlement over five fiscal years from FY 2025-26, and in September 2026 said it could fund the second year's $1.2 billion without bonds. When any one person is paid depends on the allocation process and is a question for their lawyer; we do not give individual payment dates.
The Board of State and Community Corrections gave notice on October 14, 2024 that Los Padrinos was unsuitable because the County had not submitted an approved corrective action plan on staffing, and on April 10, 2025 found it remained unsuitable. The findings concern staffing and conditions, not the sexual abuse claims. A court approved a plan to reduce the hall's population on May 16, 2025.
The Attorney General enforces a January 2021 stipulated judgment on conditions in all LA County juvenile halls (LASC No. 21STCV01309). On July 23, 2025 it asked the court to appoint a receiver, saying the County was out of compliance with 75% of the judgment. BSCC records the petition as denied on October 10, 2025; news reports in 2026 described the case as still pending.
On March 3, 2025 the Attorney General announced charges against 30 detention services officers over fights among youth at Los Padrinos in the second half of 2023, including child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy and battery. Those are not sexual abuse charges. Everyone charged is presumed innocent unless convicted.
Related states and institutions
Los Padrinos is one of several County facilities named in these claims; the LA County juvenile hall settlement page covers the others, and our LA County foster care page covers child welfare placements, including MacLaren Children’s Center. Detention cases in other states are on the juvenile facilities tracker, with background on our juvenile detention overview. If you are weighing a claim, our guides on statutes of limitations, filing anonymously and what filing involves may help, and a confidential case review costs nothing.
- People ex rel. Becerra v. Los Angeles County, LASC No. 21STCV01309, Attorney General's memorandum in support of receivership (2025) Accurate as of July 23, 2025.
- Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Statement of Proceedings, April 29, 2025, Item 11 Accurate as of April 29, 2025.
- Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Statement of Proceedings, October 28, 2025, Item 6 Accurate as of October 28, 2025.
- Los Angeles County Counsel, letter to the Board on the Group B settlement (October 28, 2025) Accurate as of October 28, 2025.
- Los Angeles County CEO, FY 2026-27 Supplemental Budget, adopted September 29, 2026 (Item 94) Accurate as of September 29, 2026.
- California Attorney General, court grants enforcement of the 2021 stipulated judgment (May 9, 2023) Accurate as of May 9, 2023.
- California Attorney General, request to place LA County juvenile halls in receivership (July 23, 2025) Accurate as of July 23, 2025.
- California Attorney General, criminal charges against 30 Los Padrinos officers (March 3, 2025) Accurate as of March 3, 2025.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1 Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- Board of State and Community Corrections, history of suitability at Central, Barry J. Nidorf and Los Padrinos juvenile halls, 2018 to present Accurate as of December 13, 2024.
- Board of State and Community Corrections, statement on Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall (December 19, 2024) Accurate as of December 19, 2024.
- Board of State and Community Corrections, historical timeline of Los Angeles County Probation through April 14, 2026 Accurate as of April 14, 2026.
- Los Angeles County Probation Department, statement on the Attorney General's receivership announcement (July 23, 2025) Accurate as of July 23, 2025.
- Los Angeles County Probation Department, statement on the court's depopulation ruling (May 16, 2025) Accurate as of May 16, 2025.
- Los Angeles County Probation Department, relocation of female and gender-expansive youth to Campus Kilpatrick (January 28, 2026) Accurate as of January 28, 2026.
- Los Angeles County Probation Department, further transfers under the Los Padrinos depopulation plan (August 14, 2026) Accurate as of August 14, 2026.
- County of Los Angeles, "LA County reaches $4 billion tentative settlement" (April 4, 2025) Accurate as of April 4, 2025.
- County of Los Angeles, announcement of tentative settlement of additional AB 218 cases (October 17, 2025) Accurate as of October 17, 2025.
- NBC Los Angeles, nearly 300 sue over alleged sexual abuse at LA County youth detention centers (December 28, 2022), reporting (news reporting) Accurate as of December 28, 2022.
- NBC Los Angeles, new sex abuse lawsuit filed involving Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall (July 17, 2025), reporting (news reporting) Accurate as of July 17, 2025.
- Daily News (Press-Telegram), receivership case and BSCC amicus (March 1, 2026), reporting (news reporting) Accurate as of March 1, 2026.
- Los Angeles County Probation Department, Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall facility page Accurate as of October 8, 2026.
Figures on this page are as of the dates given beside them, and the latest is September 29, 2026. Allegations described here are allegations unless a court has found otherwise.
