Phoenix House Academy of San Diego was meant to be a place of healing, a treatment center where vulnerable adolescents struggling with addiction could find support and recovery. Instead, for some, it became a site of profound betrayal. If you or a loved one suffered sexual abuse while being treated by Phoenix House Academy of San Diego, you deserve justice, accountability, and compassionate legal representation.
Our firm is determined to hold institutions accountable when they fail to protect those in their care. Reports reveal that Phoenix House’s Descanso, California, facility – operating under contracts with San Diego County for nearly two decades – was the site of horrific abuse, including a counselor who engaged in sexual relations with a minor resident and supplied him with methamphetamines.
In another instance, the San Diego-Union Tribune reported in 2016, “A male staff member in October 2013 gave pornography to residents, purchasing a magazine on the way to work and leaving it in a place male residents would find it,” and the report noted that “the staff member had been disciplined once before and ‘had issues with inappropriate boundaries with residents at Phoenix House.’”
These violations and other troubling accounts led to investigations and the eventual closure of the facility in 2015. But for survivors, the scars remain. Because sexual abuse in youth treatment facilities is a devastating breach of trust, and many survivors struggle with lasting trauma, shame, and emotional distress, often compounded by institutional cover-ups or negligence.
If you or a loved one was harmed at Phoenix House Academy of San Diego before it closed, you have the right to hold the facility and its staff accountable for failing to provide a safe environment.
With the help of our attorneys, you may be able to pursue financial compensation for the pain, suffering, and long-term effects of abuse and demand systemic change so no other child endures what you or someone you love did.
Sexual abuse cases require attorneys with deep experience in institutional abuse litigation. Our team understands the complexities of these cases, including how to navigate statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims and other complicated aspects of this type of legal action.
If you or someone you love was abused at Phoenix House Academy in San Diego, we offer a confidential, no-obligation consultation to discuss your legal options, and you pay nothing unless we pursue and win your case.
You deserve answers. You deserve justice. And you deserve a legal team that fights relentlessly for your rights. Contact us today to speak with a compassionate Phoenix House Academy sexual abuse attorney by calling 602-222-2222 or filling out the form on this page to get in touch.
The path to healing begins with holding the wrongdoers accountable. Let us help you on your journey.
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