Overview

• More than 200 women’s lawyers sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli asking the Department of Justice to probe potential federal crimes by probation-run staff.
• In April Los Angeles County approved a $4 billion payout resolving roughly 7,000 claims without any criminal charges against current or former probation officers.
• Attorneys allege that key records were discarded after a 2006 Justice Department review and that officials may have concealed ongoing abuse under a federal monitor installed in 2008.
• Former deputy probation officer Thomas Jackson was accused by at least 30 women and referred to prosecutors in December 2023 but was not charged because of the statute of limitations.
• The wave of litigation follows AB 218, the 2020 California law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse claims.