Overview
- The County of San Diego agreed to pay $10 million on Friday, bringing total civil settlements to $31.5 million that also include $10 million from the city, $8.5 million from Pacific Coast Academy and $3 million from Rock Church.
- San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Whitney approved the Pacific Coast Academy and Rock Church settlements, and court documents show insurer funding for the church’s payment.
- The lawsuit, filed for Arabella’s younger sisters, alleges missed or mishandled abuse reports by county social workers, teachers at a charter homeschooling program, a Rock Church member and a San Diego Fire-Rescue chaplain.
- San Diego police officer LaWanda Fisher, accused of providing wooden paddles and failing to report suspected abuse, settled separately for $6,000, 20 hours of community service focused on children’s issues and a child-abuse course.
- Prosecutors say Arabella, 11, died in 2022 from starvation with bruises and 13 healing fractures, and criminal charges against adoptive mother Leticia McCormack and her parents remain pending after not guilty pleas; adoptive father Brian McCormack died by suicide the day she died.