Abuse and neglect: $ 9 million settlement reached over allegations of Centralia Kiwanis facility shutdown

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By Claudia Yaw / [email protected]

Seven other former residents of a secure home for boys in Centralia will benefit from a multi-million dollar settlement during their stay at the Kiwanis-run facility, which was fraught with stories of physical and sexual abuse.

While Washington state has already paid settlements on the Kiwanis Vocational Home (KVH), the most recent settlement – $ 9 million reached last week – is just the second installment involving Kiwanis himself. . The international service club managed the house from 1979, expanding it despite reports of abuse.

Kiwanis International declined to comment on the settlement.

The first $ 6 million settlement came this spring, and lawyer Darrell Cochran expects several more to follow.

More than 60 people have come forward so far, whose stories paint a grim picture of the neglect and abuse of young boys. Plaintiffs are put into groups of six to 10 for litigation as they arise, and each case, according to Cochran, shares the same basic evidence, including the testimony of the late Charles McCarthy, the former director of the house found by DSHS to have physically assaulted the boys and embezzled funds.

The two cases grouped together in the settlement list the defendants as Kiwanis International, Kiwanis Pacific Northwest District and sections of Centralia-Chehalis, University Place and Tumwater. Former Kiwanis executives Charles McCarthy, Guy Cornwell and Edward Hopkins are also listed, along with several DSHS superiors and state agencies overseeing child protection.

While the legal team representing former KVH residents – now adults – expects more settlements, Cochran also said it’s likely that at least one person down the line is unwilling to s ‘install, opting instead for a multi-year trial.

“Settling in is shutting down… but I’m going to find at least one complainant who says it’s not enough,” Chochran told The Chronicle. “I want to make sure this plays out completely in front of a jury, and we give a jury a chance to make a decision. The story is so gripping and so dark, and it needed so much light on it, and I want it to be fully presented.

In the most recent settlement, the seven plaintiffs – identified by their initials in the lawsuits – were young boys who came home in the ’80s or early’ 90s.

A plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges that his placement at the KVH itself was illegal because the facility was not allowed to care for children under the age of 10, like him.

According to the lawsuit, this plaintiff was considered the youngest child living in the home, making him a “vulnerable target for repeated sexual abuse by KVH staff and older KVH residents”.

The complaints for the seven people allege that the staff were aware of the criminal and sexual misconduct at KVH and “had absolutely no success in protecting the children who reside there”.

Of the seven plaintiffs in total, three still live in Lewis County. Their legal team encourages them to use the settlement money to buy property or homes that can provide stability.

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