Philadelphia County Court
PHILADELPHIA – A children’s services company in Philadelphia is settling claims it placed a girl in a foster home with an older boy who had sexually assaulted his siblings.
That resulted in the plaintiff becoming pregnant at 12 years old, lawyers at Kline & Specter said in a lawsuit filed Feb. 22, 2024, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The defendant, Methodist Family Services, recently settled claims for the limit of its insurance coverage - $6 million.
Known as F.W. in court documents, the plaintiff said she was raped by the boy from 2002-04.
“F.W. was betrayed by everyone who was supposed to be protecting her,” attorney Emily Marks said. “Her cries for help went unanswered and she was never recognized as a victim of child sexual abuse. No one took the time to offer her the support that she needed. I am pleased that we were able to get justice for F.W. after all these years.”
Pennsylvania law enables victims of childhood sexual abuse to bring lawsuits well outside the statutes of limitations for other claims. If they are under 18 years old when the abuse occurs, they have until they turn 55.
In F.W.’s case, her lawyers said Methodist Family Services put her in a foster home owned by a woman who was already caring for three other foster children, three grandchildren and six kids in her daycare center.
One of the children there was her alleged attacker, who was around 16 when F.W. was placed in the home at age 11. The boy had physically and sexually assaulted his own siblings prior to moving into the foster home, it was alleged.
The suit also claimed Methodist knew this and failed to properly supervise the home. When F.W. was 12, she became pregnant and had an abortion arranged by an employee of Methodist.
F.W. said the company still failed to react to the obvious signs of sexual abuse.
“Unfortunately, people sometimes forget the impact of harm particularly when it’s so far in the past,” attorney Nadeem Bezar said.
“Even more unfortunate, this kind of harm has a lasting impact. I am glad we were able to do the necessary investigation to uncover the evidence needed to be successful in pursuing this matter for F.W.”
