The case stems back to 2004, when a then 12-year-old girl in foster care in Benton County began to report sexual abuse.
The girl, who is referred in court papers only as V.O., apparently endured this abuse until 2009, when she escaped her home and reported it to Police.
Tamaki Law Firm released information Wednesday, indicating the case had been settled prior to trial, and is now the largest (financially) sex abuse case ever settled in WA State. The State has agreed to award the victim $2 million dollars.
Tamaki Law says the girl began to report abuse at the hands of Abel Ortega. She had been placed through the foster care system with him and his wife Diana when she was 3 1/2 years old, in 1995. The lawsuit says the State failed to take actions when abuse began to be reported; other separate acts of abuse were also levied against Mr. Ortega.