Boys Republic, the private residential treatment facility in Chino Hills, California, has faced sexual abuse lawsuits stretching across more than twenty years, all centered on allegations that female counselors had sexual contact with teenage male residents. A criminal case against one counselor in 2002 was followed by civil suits that same year and in 2003, and in September 2024 a new plaintiff filed a fresh case under California’s revived statute of limitations. That 2024 case remains active in San Bernardino County Superior Court.
The Sheryl Lee Criminal Case
In 2002, San Bernardino County sheriff’s detectives arrested Sheryl Lee, a 23-year-old former counselor, on charges of having sex with five male residents aged 15 to 17. Lee denied the allegations. She claimed one encounter was consensual and occurred after the student turned 18, and she alleged that another youth had raped her. She was released on bail while awaiting trial.1Los Angeles Times. Boys Republic Lawsuits
Prosecutors also investigated executive director Max Scott for allegedly failing to report child abuse under California’s mandatory reporting laws, but declined to file charges. A sheriff’s department spokesperson said at the time that no other counselors had been implicated.1Los Angeles Times. Boys Republic Lawsuits
The 2002 and 2003 Civil Suits
Three of the five boys tied to the Lee criminal case sued Boys Republic in San Bernardino Superior Court in November 2002. That complaint alleged management tried to cover up the abuse and delayed reporting it to authorities.1Los Angeles Times. Boys Republic Lawsuits
In May 2003, Los Angeles attorney Michael S. Traylor filed a broader federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of three former students, then aged 19 to 21. The suit sought $30 million in damages and named Boys Republic, the State of California, and San Bernardino County as defendants, citing violations of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, California’s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, and the plaintiffs’ civil rights.1Los Angeles Times. Boys Republic Lawsuits
The federal complaint went well beyond Lee. It alleged that sexual relationships between female counselors and male students were “common knowledge” at the facility, and that top management “allowed, condoned and encouraged” the conduct. According to the suit, executives joked about the abuse, and students who tried to raise it in group therapy were discouraged and threatened with transfer to juvenile penal facilities if they spoke out. Traylor told the Los Angeles Times that many boys knew about the practice “even before they got there.” The suit also alleged that counselors provided illegal drugs and alcohol to minors.1Los Angeles Times. Boys Republic Lawsuits
Boys Republic referred press inquiries to its attorney at the time. No public settlements or verdicts from either the 2002 or 2003 lawsuits appear in the available record.
The 2024 Case: R.G. v. Boys Republic
On September 23, 2024, a plaintiff identified as R.G. filed a civil lawsuit in San Bernardino County Superior Court against Boys Republic. The complaint alleges R.G. was sexually assaulted in 2002 when he was seventeen and living at the facility. It is styled as a general tort action for personal injury and names Boys Republic along with Does 1 through 60.2Trellis Law. R.G. v. Boys Republic
The filing was made possible by California Assembly Bill 218, which took effect January 1, 2020. AB 218 extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault claims to 22 years past the age of majority and opened a three-year window allowing adults to file suits on claims that had previously expired. The law also introduced treble damages where a defendant is found to have covered up childhood sexual assault, and it barred confidentiality clauses in settlements of such claims.3LegiScan. California AB 218
Boys Republic, represented by the Morgenstern Law Group, filed an answer and a demand for a jury trial on November 15, 2024. Judge Gilbert G. Ochoa is presiding. An initial trial setting conference statement was filed in March 2025, and the docket showed the case active as of January 2026.2Trellis Law. R.G. v. Boys Republic
How This Fits the Wider California Wave
The R.G. case is one of many revived under AB 218. As of May 2024, roughly 5,200 plaintiffs had filed lawsuits alleging childhood sexual abuse while in Los Angeles County foster homes, shelters, and probation-run facilities, with projected settlement costs estimated between $1.6 billion and more than $3 billion. Those figures cover county-run facilities rather than Boys Republic itself, but the same revival window that produced them is what allows a 2002 allegation against the Chino Hills facility to be heard in 2024.4The Imprint. Cases Alleging Sexual Abuse of Children in Los Angeles County Custody Now Number Thousands
The allegations against Boys Republic span more than two decades and remain unresolved in court.