Former Foster Children Sue Baltimore City For Alleged Sexual Abuse

On March 16, four people filed a lawsuit against the Jewish Community Services, Inc. and the Mayor & City Council of Baltimore City, alleging they endured years of sexual abuse while under foster care.

In a press statement released by Andreozzi + Foote, the firm representing the four plaintiffs, the lawsuit alleges “gross negligence in placing and failing to protect foster children from severe and prolonged sexual abuse while under the defendants’ care.” The

four unnamed survivors suffered the alleged abuse decades ago when they were children and placed in the Spurrier Foster Home in Baltimore. The alleged sexual abuse continued for years, according to the law firm, and the four victims suffered “horrific abuse” from foster family members and other individuals.

“Baltimore City and Jewish Community Services had a duty to protect these children, yet they turned a blind eye to blatant warning signs,” said Attorney Nathaniel L. Foote of Andreozzi

+ Foote. “For decades, our clients have carried the weight of this betrayal. Today, they are taking a stand to demand accountability.”

The complaint claims no action was ever taken to protect the four victims and defendants have failed on several occasions to address reports of abuse, which reportedly date back to the 1960s. According to a report by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 203,770 chil­dren under the age of 18 entered fos­ter care in the Unit­ed States in 2021

. A study published in the National Library of Medicine revealed that girls specifically were at high risk of facing sexual abuse while in foster care. Of the 155 adolescent girls examined, 81% were victims of sexual abuse, while 68% reported they were sexually abused by more than one individual.

Foote says the case is about justice and focuses on ensuring vulnerable children in foster care are no longer victims of sexual abuse due to a system that failed to protect. The lawsuit calls attention to systemic failures such as inadequate screening, supervision, and response to abuse reports.

The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City under Maryland’s Child Victims Act.

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