Lawsuit:Manuel and Sarita Rivera

“A woman who claims she was sexually abused in a Douglas County foster care home for much of her childhood has filed a civil complaint against the couple she said is responsible.

The complaint was filed in Douglas County Circuit Court on Dec. 11, 2023. The alleged victim, who is now 23, is represented by Beaverton Attorney Paul C. Galm. He did not return phone calls and emails seeking comment.

The actions of Manuel Rivera, 60, and Sarita Rivera, 58, “were extraordinary transgressions of the bounds of socially tolerable conduct and exceeded any reasonable limit of social toleration,” the complaint said.

The woman is seeking $2.6 million for alleged sexual battery, negligence and infliction of emotional stress. The News-Review does not publish the names of alleged victims of sexual abuse, except in rare circumstances.

The Riveras have not responded to the complaint in court. Sarita Rivera said the couple would not comment.

The Riveras have never been charged with any crimes.

According to the complaint:

In 2007, when the plaintiff was 7, the Oregon Department of Human Services placed her in the foster care home of the Riveras. The plaintiff remained in the home for a decade.

In 2009, she started “to endure sexual abuse” by Manuel Rivera, who allegedly began touching the girl in “inappropriate places” and rubbing himself against her. The girl told her sister, who also lived in the home, about the alleged abuse. The sister confronted Sarita Rivera about the abuse, but she “refused to acknowledge” it, the complaint said.

In 2010, Manuel Rivera “attempted to have sexual intercourse” with the plaintiff, the complaint said.

From 2012 through 2017, Manuel Rivera would allegedly stand outside the bathroom while the girl showered and watch her through the window, the complaint said. When she tried to prevent Rivera from watching her, he would become angry and punish her by preventing her from staying with friends or participating in after-school activities. He would also take away her phone, the complaint said.

In 2016, Manuel Rivera allegedly got into the plaintiff’s bed and allegedly tried to have intercourse with her. Sarita Rivera walked into the room and pulled her husband out of the bed, the complaint said.

“Despite this incident defendant Manuel Rivera continued to sneak into plantiff’s room and molest her,” the complaint alleges.

Between 2007 and 2017, Manuel Rivera “repeatedly engaged in a pattern of sexual abuse against plaintiff, including inappropriate touching, sexual intercourse and sexual exploitation,” according to the complaint

Because of the alleged abuse, the plaintiff will require counseling and other treatment and incur related expenses amounting to $100,000, the complaint said. She also suffered non-economic losses, including emotional injury, mental anguish, trauma, an inability to form close relationships, nightmares and sleep disruption, mistrust in others, a lack of self-esteem and anxiety, the complaint said.

She is seeking $2.6 million for the “damages arising” from those acts, the complaint said.

This is at least the third complaint Galm has filed against the state on behalf of minors who allegedly suffered abuse after being placed in the Riveras’ foster home.

In September 2021, Galm filed a complaint claiming two young brothers were emotionally, physically and sexually abused for years while in the Riveras’ care. Both boys were under the age of 6 when they were first placed in the home, the complaint said. Most of the abuse, and all of the sexual abuse, allegedly came from other youth in the house, according to the complaint.

The younger boy was later removed from the lawsuit because he was too young to remember or fully understand what happened, Galm said.

The case involving the older brother was settled in February 2023, when the state agreed to a payout of $425,000.

In June 2023, Galm filed a complaint on behalf of another boy, claiming much the same abuse as in the previous lawsuit. That boy is seeking $2.55 million from the state. That complaint is scheduled to go to trial in June.”
Complaint alleges abuse in county foster care home
[The News-Review 1/19/224 by Scott Carroll]

REFORM Puzzle Piece