A California jury returned a unanimous $3.5 million verdict against a substance abuse treatment facility after a counselor sexually assaulted a vulnerable patient in his care. The case, decided February 20, 2026, in Santa Clara County Superior Court, is a powerful reminder that institutions entrusted with our most vulnerable community members can and must be held accountable when they fail.
If you or someone you love has been the victim of counsel sexual assault or abuse at a treatment facility, you have legal rights and you are not alone. The Howell Law Firm offers free, confidential consultations and handles these cases on a contingency basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win. Call us today at 888-712-0017.
The Case: Jane Doe v. Support Systems Homes, Inc.
In 2021, a 35-year-old woman entered Support Systems Homes, Inc., a substance abuse treatment facility in California, seeking help for a substance use disorder. She first completed a detoxification program and then transitioned to in-patient treatment, where she resided at the facility for 30 days.
During her time as an in-patient, she was assigned to a counselor who was not certified and who, as the evidence at trial established, was not properly supervised by the facility. What followed was a serious and repeated betrayal of trust. The counselor engaged in sexual contact with the plaintiff on multiple occasions over a two-week period while she was living inside the facility. The abuse did not stop when she left. It continued for another two weeks after she transitioned into the outpatient phase of her program.
The plaintiff filed suit in January 2023, alleging that the facility was negligent in hiring, retaining, and supervising the counselor. She argued that the facility was mismanaged, understaffed, and had failed to deliver on its explicit promise to provide a safe environment for patients around the clock.
The defense denied responsibility. Support Systems Homes, Inc. claimed it had properly supervised the counselor and argued that any inappropriate contact occurred only after the plaintiff had been discharged from in-patient care, placing the conduct outside the scope of the facility’s responsibility. The jury did not accept those arguments.
On February 20, 2026, after hearing from psychiatric, addiction medicine, and counseling experts on both sides, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of 12 to 0 on liability. The total award was $3,500,000, with 70 percent of fault allocated to Support Systems Homes, Inc. and 30 percent to the individual counselor.
Why the Facility Was Held Primarily Responsible
It would be easy to focus only on the individual who committed the abuse. But this case illustrates something important about how the law approaches institutional negligence. The counselor was one person. The facility was the system that hired him without proper credentials, placed him alone with a vulnerable patient, and failed to check on whether patients were safe.
When an institution makes a promise of safety and then fails to staff, supervise, and manage itself in a way that could fulfill that promise, it bears responsibility for what happens as a result. A 12-0 jury agreed that Support Systems Homes, Inc. was not a passive bystander to this abuse. It was a contributing cause.
What Victims of Counsel Sexual Assault Need to Know
If you have experienced sexual assault, abuse, or exploitation by a counselor, therapist, or staff member at a treatment facility, the following information may be among the most important you will ever read.
Get Medical and Mental Health Treatment First
Your physical and emotional wellbeing comes before anything else. If you have been sexually assaulted, seek medical attention as soon as possible. A healthcare provider can treat injuries, address risks related to sexually transmitted infections, and document what happened to your body in a way that may become important evidence later. If you are struggling emotionally in the aftermath of what happened, please also reach out to a mental health provider. Trauma from counsel sexual assault is real and serious, and you deserve support as you process it.
Preserve Evidence
Evidence can make the difference between a strong case and an uphill battle. If you have not already done so, write down everything you remember about what happened, including dates, times, locations, what was said, and who else may have been present or nearby. Save any text messages, emails, voicemails, or other communications involving the person who harmed you. Keep any records from the facility, including intake paperwork, treatment plans, billing statements, or any written communications. Do not throw anything away and do not assume something is unimportant. Let an attorney help you evaluate what matters.
Notify the Appropriate Authorities
Reporting what happened is a deeply personal decision and only you can make it. That said, filing a report with law enforcement creates an official record that can support a civil lawsuit. You may also consider filing a complaint with the California Department of Health Care Services or the relevant licensing board that oversees the counselor who harmed you. In some cases, there may be other victims. A report from you could protect someone else from going through what you experienced.
Understand California’s Strict Deadlines
California law imposes deadlines on when you can file a civil lawsuit, and missing them can permanently bar you from recovering compensation. These deadlines are called statutes of limitations, and they vary depending on the nature of the claim and the circumstances of your case. In general, California has extended protections for survivors of sexual assault, but the rules are fact-specific and waiting too long is a risk you should not take. The sooner you speak with an attorney, the better your options will be. Do not assume you have waited too long without speaking to a lawyer first.
You Do Not Have to Have a Police Report to File a Civil Lawsuit
A criminal case and a civil lawsuit are two different things. In a criminal case, the government prosecutes the offender. In a civil case, you sue for compensation for what was done to you. These proceedings are independent of each other. You can pursue a civil claim even if law enforcement declined to press charges, even if you never filed a report, and even if the criminal process is still ongoing. Many survivors of counsel sexual assault choose to pursue civil justice because it gives them a voice and because it can result in meaningful financial accountability for both the individual abuser and the institution that enabled the abuse.
Know What You Can Recover
A successful civil lawsuit for counsel sexual assault can result in compensation for medical and mental health treatment costs, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and in some cases punitive damages designed to punish particularly egregious institutional conduct. The $3.5 million verdict in the Support Systems Homes case reflects the full scope of harm that sexual abuse in a treatment setting can cause. Every case is different, but speaking with an attorney will give you a realistic picture of what your case may be worth.
Why Institutional Accountability Matters
When an uncertified counselor assaults a patient at a substance abuse facility, it is tempting to treat that as an isolated incident. It rarely is. Facilities that cut corners on credentialing cut corners on supervision. Facilities that are understaffed fail to monitor what is happening between staff and patients. Facilities that do not take safety promises seriously create environments where abuse can occur and go unreported.
Civil lawsuits like Jane Doe v. Support Systems Homes, Inc. do more than compensate one person. They send a message to every treatment facility in California that there are real consequences for negligence. They create public records that inform other patients and families. And they give survivors a measure of justice that the criminal system, even when it functions as it should, cannot always provide.
Call the Howell Law Firm for a Free Consultation
The Howell Law Firm represents survivors of counsel sexual assault and institutional abuse throughout California. We understand how difficult it is to come forward, and we are committed to handling every case with discretion, compassion, and the aggressive advocacy our clients deserve.
If you or someone you love was sexually abused, exploited, or assaulted by a counselor, therapist, or staff member at a recovery facility, treatment center, or any other institutional setting, we want to hear from you. There is no cost to speak with us and no obligation to move forward. If we take your case, you pay nothing unless we win.
Time is critical. California’s deadlines can cut off your right to recovery if you wait too long to act.
Call us today: 888-712-0017
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