Partner Stephen G. Larson spoke to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 7 about his role in leading the investigation into County departments associated with the services provided to the 13 Turpin children who were rescued from their abusive home in 2018.
Larson LLP was hired to investigate the County in October after the preview of an ABC “20/20” special, which aired on Nov. 19, shed light on allegations that the Turpin children endured further mistreatment under the County’s care.
“I want to assure you—each of you supervisors and all of the county—that my firm and I are fully committed to conducting a thorough and transparent examination of these matters as expected by this board and the residents and citizens of Riverside County,” Stephen stated to the board, as reported by The Press-Enterprise.
Stephen and partner Hilary Potashner have two primary objectives for the investigation, ABC News noted from his presentation to the board. One, “identifying and scrutinizing” the children’s care while under the County’s supervision; and two, assessing “the quality of the Riverside County services for all children in foster care and dependent adults.”
The firm, Stephen reported to the board, has “complete autonomy to pursue all relevant lines of inquiry to answer the critical questions that our investigation will uncover.”
In his presentation, Stephen recognized the County for initiating the investigation. “The fact that the county promptly sought an independent review and that you are demanding swift and meaningful action underscores for me and this county your commitment to addressing these critical issues directly and openly and effectively,” he stated.
The board “also approved the creation of an ad-hoc committee to assess inter-departmental systems improvement for the protection of vulnerable children and adults,” ABC News reported. “The committee will receive regular status reports and updates from Larson LLP, ensure full and complete access to any and all relevant information to support the inquiry, and make recommendations to the full Board of Supervisors regarding policy directives, systems changes, and service delivery improvement.”
Read the full report by ABC News here and the article by Jeff Horseman of The Press-Enterprise here. Other media coverage includes:
