The City of Whittier has agreed to pay $3.5 million to four women who say a former police officer sexually abused and groomed them while they were teenagers in the department’s Explorer program in the 1970s, resolving a set of long-delayed civil claims that surfaced only after the women compared stories decades later.
The lawsuits say the alleged abuse took place during police ride-alongs and at the officer’s home, at a time when the plaintiffs were participating in the youth program and hoping to build careers in law enforcement. They say they did not speak publicly about what happened until conversations in 2020 made them realize their experiences were strikingly similar, which eventually led to coordinated litigation.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the city agreed to the $3.5 million settlement to resolve claims against former Whittier Police Officer Charles Drylie and the City of Whittier. Attorneys with the DeMarco Law Firm filed suits against both Drylie and the city, and some matters were resolved shortly before trials were scheduled to begin.
What the lawsuits say
Court filings from the plaintiffs’ attorneys describe in detail how the alleged abuse unfolded. One complaint says Drylie began abusing a plaintiff in 1976 when she was 15 and that assaults continued for years, often during ride-alongs, inside squad cars, and at his home, according to DeMarco Law Firm filings…