New Brunswick, NJ – A woman who suffered sexual abuse as a child in New Jersey’s foster care system has been awarded a historic $25 million by a Middlesex County jury. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the NJ Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), formerly known as the NJ Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P), in 2019, alleging that foster caretakers had sexually molested her. The abuse occurred in three separate foster care homes during her childhood.
The woman claimed that when she reported the abuse, her social workers did not adequately investigate the allegations or remove her from the abusive environments. She identified four different adults who molested her between 1990 and 1993, two of whom were subsequently convicted of sexual assault. The convicted individuals were George Wilson and his son, Christopher Wilson, who were found guilty in 1998/99.
This lawsuit was the first to be brought to trial under the Child Victims Act, a new law in New Jersey that suspends the statute of limitations for civil claims arising from child sexual abuse. The legislation allows individuals who suffered abuse as children in the state to file civil lawsuits seeking financial restitution within a specified time period.
On March 12, a jury comprising seven Middlesex County residents found DYFS to be 99 percent liable for gross negligence in the case. The $25 million awarded to the plaintiff sets a precedent for future lawsuits filed by adults who claim they were abused while in New Jersey’s foster care system. The victim of the abuse, who currently resides in New Jersey, was a ward of the state from ages three to ten and then again from ages 11 to 18, as her parents struggled with drug abuse.
The abuse took place in three different foster homes. In her first foster home, where she resided for two years starting at the age of three, she was sexually abused by her foster parent. At the age of five, she was placed in a second foster home where she endured abuse for just one month. Subsequently, she was placed in a third foster home at the age of five, where she suffered continued molestation at the hands of the father and his son.
The plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of DYFS for their failure to protect her and adequately monitor the foster families. She was represented by two law firms currently handling almost 175 Child Victims Act-related cases across New Jersey: Rebenack Aronow & Mascolo and Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala.
To protect the victim’s privacy as a crime survivor, Patch will not disclose her name. However, this case highlights the need for greater accountability and protection for children in the foster care system. The significant financial judgement awarded by the jury sends a powerful message and opens the door for others to seek restitution for abuse suffered while in the state’s care. This landmark decision will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications for future cases involving similar allegations.