TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A mother and her son who was allegedly raped at a Tampa, Fla., children's home have settled their lawsuit.
A July order in the Hillsborough County Circuit Court approved a confidential settlement that sets up a structured settlement annuity that will be used to fund a special needs trust for the boy.
The plaintiffs, who sued under pseudonyms, filed suit in June 2021 against Hope Children's Home, which says it is a facility for children who have been abandoned, abused or orphaned.
According to the complaint, John Doe, age nine at the time, was living at Hope Children's Home between Feb. 4, 2020, and Feb. 6, 2020, for residential care and rehabilitation services.
During John Doe's stay at the home, the mother alleges that an older male child staying at the home was sexually active with another male child and the home failed to notify the Department of Children and Families Abuse Hotline and failed to transfer the resident from the facilities.
Jane Doe alleges that the home allowed the other sexually active male child to stay in the home and room with younger children and caused John Doe to get attacked while staying at the home. Jane Doe alleges her son was molested, sodomized and raped by the older male child due to the negligence and lack of supervision at the home.