6 Brothers Allegedly Left in Abusive Home for 8 Years Despite 33 Complaints Get $6.55M
Despite 33 complaints, it took eight years for child protection authorities in Washington state to remove six brothers from a family home in which their lawyer says they were starved, locked in closets and physically abused.
Now the state has agreed to settle for $6.55 million the case they filed in King County Superior Court in 2009, reports the Seattle Times.
Four of the brothers, who are now 14 to 22 years old, live with their maternal grandmother in Yakima, Wash. She made most of the complaints to the state Department of Social and Health Services, although several “serious incident” reports were filed by professionals.
A spokeswoman for the state blames a caseworker for not following up appropriately on complaints and says a computer system today makes it much easier for officials to track a series of complaints and see the big picture immediately when a call is made.
None of the adults who lived with the brothers has ever been charged, the newspaper notes.
