Santa Monica Police Officer Eric Uller molested children while volunteering with the Police Activities League with underprivileged children in the 1980s and 1990s. He was arrested in 2018 and committed suicide
The city of Santa Monica has now agreed to pay out a total of $230 million to more than 200 victims of former police officer Eric Uller, it announced Tuesday — but a lawyer says there could be more.
It’s one of the largest payouts of its kind ever, for one of the most prolific alleged abusers.
The California City Council said Tuesday night it would approve $122.5 million settlements for 124 plaintiffs.
Attorney Catherine Lerer, whose firm McGee Lerer represented 14 of the victims, said total payouts have now reached a staggering $229,825,000, to more than 200 people allegedly abused as children by Uller.
“More claims could still be filed,” she told DailyMail.com.
“Victims under the age of 40 have until age 40 to file a claim.”
“My clients are happy that there is a measure of justice that will help them move forward in their lives and in their healing, but the unfortunate reality is that no amount of money can take away the memory of what was done to them.”
Uller worked as an IT technician and dispatcher at SMPD, dressing in police uniform and driving marked and unmarked police cars. Whistleblowers told DailyMail.com they reported the abuse way back in 1993, but were shut down or ignored by senior staff
The city of Santa Monica has agreed to pay out $229,825,000 to more than 200 victims, DailyMail.com has learned. Pictured is the Santa Monica Police Department
Former Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) employee Eric Uller molested dozens of children in the 1980s and 1990s while volunteering with the Police Activities League (PAL), a nonprofit organization for underprivileged youth.
He committed suicide while awaiting trial in 2018. But the city’s alleged negligence and even covering up of the abuse led to a mountain of lawsuits.
Victims reported that Uller groomed them, invited children to play in his police car, and gradually turned to molestation and rape.
Catherine Lerer of LA firm McGee, Lerer & Associates, which represents 14 victims, said ‘more claims could be filed’
Some of his alleged victims were as young as eight years old and said they had been abused for years.
A former staffer at PAL told DailyMail.com last year that she reported Uller to the program’s director, Patty Loggins, in 1993 after a boy came to her office claiming that Uller had made sexually inappropriate comments to him — but was threatened with a reprimand for gossip.
Santa Monica City Councilman Oscar de la Torre also tried to whistle at Uller from the early 2000s, but says no action was taken and claimed the city even retaliated by selling the youth center he helped run. defund.
“Because none of these cases have gone to trial, we may never know the full extent of the city’s crime,” Lerer said. “There will never be a public broadcast of who knew why nothing was done and if there was a cover up.
“I am happy for the victims who are being compensated for the horrific abuse they have endured. At the same time, I am saddened for the residents of my hometown, the city of Santa Monica, because of the impact the payout from the city’s crime will have on them.”
California Assembly Bill 218 temporarily extended the statute of limitations for historic child sexual abuse, resulting in a deluge of lawsuits, many of which were filed as recently as four months ago.
A former staffer at PAL, Michelle Cardiel, previously told DailyMail.com that she reported Uller to the program director, Patty Loggins, in 1993 after a boy came to her office claiming that Uller had made sexually inappropriate comments to him
“Most of my clients didn’t sign up until the last week of December 2022,” Lerer said. “The reasons they gave for coming forward so late were embarrassment, embarrassment, humiliation and a desperate desire to prevent their family and friends from finding out what happened to them.
Under California law, a victim of childhood sexual abuse must file a lawsuit by age 40. Many of my Uller victim clients are under the age of 40, so I suspect there are more victims.
“I suspect there are victims that we will never know committed suicide. Other victims are in prison because the abuse has put them on the path of destruction.”
The city says it has added more training and protection for children in its care.
“Following the initial allegations of sexual abuse by Uller in 2018, the city expanded mandatory child abuse reporting training requirements for all employees, volunteers, and contractors for every city-run youth program; and has established a Child Protection Committee and established a Child Protection Officer to oversee the implementation of child abuse prevention measures in all city programs,” it said in a press release on Wednesday.
“My heart goes out to the victims who have endured so much pain and heartbreak,” said Mayor Gleam Davis. “The settlement is the city’s best effort to responsibly address the suffering of the victims, while also recognizing that the harm done to the victims cannot be reversed.”
“The city has remained vigilant by implementing best practices and strict policies to ensure that these unscrupulous acts do not happen again,” said city manager David White.