Civil Plaintiff
Washington State Pays Former Foster Child $2M in Sex Abuse Settlement
Washington state paid a record $2 million to a former foster child who said she was abused in Benton County for over a decade.
Tamaki Law, which represented the now 28-year-old woman, said they believe it is the state’s largest-ever sex abuse settlement in Eastern and Central Washington.
The woman filed suit in 2018 against the state, the Department of Social and Health Services and Child Protective Services, as well as her foster mom who later adopted her.
The girl was 3 1/2 years old when she was placed in the home of Abel and Diana Ortega in 1995.
She was put in their care even though another female foster child already had accused Abel Ortega of sexual abuse, said the lawsuit.
