Riverside County Pays $2 Million Over Alleged Abuse in Sheriff’s Youth Program

According to a statement from the plaintiffs’ attorneys reported by Valley News, one plaintiff in a Riverside County Superior Court lawsuit against the county (Case No. CVRI2205313) accepted the county defendants’ statutory settlement offer on March 27, 2026. The Board of Supervisors then approved the agreement, and the county paid $2 million on July 21. The Board’s record of its June 9, 2026, meeting lists the case as existing litigation for a closed-session conference with legal counsel.

The settlement resolves that plaintiff’s claims only and does not establish that the county admitted liability. Other plaintiffs’ claims remain pending, the attorneys said.

According to the lawsuit, as described by Valley News, the investigator approached the plaintiff as a child, showed a law enforcement badge, and recruited the child into the Sheriff’s Activities League, a program meant to give vulnerable children mentorship and positive activities. The plaintiff alleges that the investigator used the authority of the badge and the trust placed in the program to sexually abuse the child repeatedly. These are allegations in a civil case.

The investigator joined the Sheriff’s Department in 1982 and worked for years at the Hemet sheriff’s station, Valley News reported. The investigator died in January 2009, about two weeks after the department opened an investigation, and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office has said the death prevented a criminal prosecution.

At the time, the department said its investigation substantiated abuse involving one victim and that the Sheriff’s Activities League was discontinued when the investigation began. Former Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff has said the investigation ran from January to September 2009 and included 151 investigative reports, 23 search warrants, and interviews with 75 potential victims. Sniff also disputed claims that investigators had been ordered not to make an arrest.

In 2021, the county agreed to pay $900,000 to resolve an earlier lawsuit by former program participants. That suit named the county, former Sheriff Sniff, the investigator’s estate, and organizations tied to the program, and it alleged that county officials concealed the misconduct, Valley News reported. Valley News did not report a county statement about the $2 million payment. We may update this article as the remaining claims proceed.

California’s reporting law covers the adults who run and staff youth programs. Administrators and employees of public or private youth centers, youth recreation programs, and youth organizations are mandated reporters, and so are peace officers (Penal Code §11165.7). A mandated reporter who knows of or reasonably suspects abuse through their work must report it by phone immediately or as soon as practicably possible and follow up in writing within 36 hours.

Mentoring programs work because children and parents trust the adults who lead them. Our page on abuse in youth organizations and other institutions explains how civil claims against an organization work, and we have also written about abuse connected to a police Explorer program.

For childhood sexual abuse that happened before 2024, the deadline to sue is generally the survivor’s 40th birthday, or five years after discovering, as an adult, that the abuse caused a psychological injury, whichever is later (Code of Civil Procedure §340.11). Starting January 1, 2027, SB 577 shortens that discovery window to three years, so it is worth having your dates checked now.

A claim against a county over childhood sexual abuse does not require the six-month government claim that most suits against public agencies need (Government Code §905(m)). The plaintiffs described in the reports sued under pseudonyms rather than their own names.

This overview of California law is general information, not legal advice.

Wilshire Law Firm’s sexual abuse attorneys represent survivors of childhood sexual abuse, including abuse by adults who used a position of authority or a youth program to reach children. Survivors in Riverside County and across the Inland Empire can meet with us at our Riverside office, and you can learn more about our legal team. We have also reported on a lawsuit over alleged abuse by a San Francisco jail deputy and a $29 million verdict against ABC Unified.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. Suspected abuse can also be reported to local law enforcement or the county’s child welfare agency.

Valley News report of November 10, 2026, which includes a statement from the plaintiffs’ attorneys at Quadra & Coll LLP. Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Statement of Proceedings, June 9, 2026.

California Code of Civil Procedure sections 340.1, 340.11, and 340.12 (as added by SB 577, Statutes of 2026); Government Code section 905; and Penal Code sections 11165.7 and 11166.

Talking about abuse, even decades later, can be hard. A Wilshire Law Firm legal professional can listen in confidence and explain the options that may be open to you, and there are no fees unless you get paid.

Contact Wilshire Law Firm today.