SANTA ANA : Lawsuit Blames State for Sex Attack on 2

An Anaheim woman who alleges that she and her 5-year-old daughter were sexually assaulted by a mentally disabled man under the supervision of a state-licensed care center filed suit Tuesday against the state Department of Social Services.

The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Santa Ana, alleges that the state was negligent in placing Vincent L. Lara in the center. The lawsuit alleges that on Nov. 12, 1991, Lara broke into the woman’s home and sexually attacked her and her daughter. At the time, the woman claimed, Lara was a ward of Myra Guest House, 3639 W. Myra Ave., an adult residential care center for the mentally disabled that is licensed by the state.

No information was available Tuesday on whether Lara faces criminal charges in connection with the alleged assaults.

The woman contends that the state should have realized that Lara did not belong at the center because he was “a seriously emotionally unstable and uncontrollable individual with a history of unpredictable, erratic and extremely violent behavior.”

Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges, Lara has an “extensive criminal record as a juvenile involving acts of violence and aggressive behavior.”

State social services officials and the woman’s attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to the lawsuit, a social services licensing evaluator inspected Myra Guest House one week before the alleged attacks and found nothing wrong with its operation. But the lawsuit contends that a second inspection after the alleged assaults concluded that Lara was “repeatedly left unsupervised; that staffs at the (center) have not been (properly) trained. . . .”

The lawsuit said that Lara was a ward of the center from Sept. 4, 1991, to Nov. 12, 1991.

The woman is suing the state for negligence and for infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking at least $50,000 in damages.