In less than a week, the San Diego City Council will vote whether to approve a $10 million legal settlement over the death of 11-year-old Arabella McCormack. It’s one of several settlements that a civil court judge granted Tuesday morning, totaling $21.5 million.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Arabella’s surviving younger sisters. It described numerous failures to report and investigate child abuse prior the girl’s death.
Prosecutors say Arabella died in August 2022, the victim of child abuse and torture at the hands of her adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack; adoptive grandfather, Stanley Tom; and adoptive grandmother, Adella Tom. All three have pleaded not guilty in a criminal case that’s faced years of delays.
Prosecutors say Arabella’s adoptive father, Brian McCormack, a Border Patrol agent, would also be facing criminal charges if he were alive today. He took his own life in front of deputies just hours after Arabella died.
Investigators said Arabella and her younger sisters were hit with paddles, deprived of food and water, isolated in their rooms, denied access to bathrooms and forced to participate in rigorous exercises. Prosecutors say Arabella died from starvation, was covered in bruises and had 13 still-healing bone fractures at the time of her death.
The San Diego Rock Church, Pacific Coast Academy and the County of San Diego are also named in the lawsuit. The heart of the case is whether a slew of people knew about the abuse – or suspected it – but didn’t fulfill their mandated reporter obligations to tell police or social workers.
City of San Diego settlement
The city of San Diego’s $10 million settlement isn’t finalized yet. While approved by the court, it must also be approved by the city council. That vote is expected to happen next Monday.
The lawsuit accuses a San Diego police officer of not only failing in her duty as a mandated reporter to report child abuse and neglect, but also directly contributing to the abuse by providing three wooden paddles to the McCormack family to discipline the girls.
The suit also accuses a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department chaplain of visiting the family multiple times, including a week before Arabella died. The lawsuit says the abuse and neglect “should have been apparent to him” and alleges that he failed in his duty as a mandated reporter.
The city of San Diego declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
The San Diego Rock Church settlement
The judge approved a $3 million settlement with the Rock Church. Court documents said the settlement was being paid out by the church’s insurance company.
Arabella’s adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, was a volunteer and ordained youth ministry leader. A member of the church reportedly told another leader about the suspected abuse – but it wasn’t reported to police or social workers.
After deputies arrested Leticia and her parents, the church told NBC 7 Investigates, it revoked her ordained status and no longer maintains a relationship with Leticia.
A Rock Church spokesperson shared a statement about the settlement.
“Rock Church remains deeply saddened by the tragic and devastating loss of Arabella McCormack, and the injuries and losses suffered by her two younger sisters. We are hopeful that the settlement agreement will help pave the way for healing.
“The safety and well-being of our church family is of the highest priority. We will continue to uphold biblical discernment and wisdom, along with clear policies, strong safeguards and accountability measures across all ministries as we rely on God’s grace and mercy to guide us forward.
“We continue to pray for God’s comfort for Arabella’s sisters and all who have been impacted by the underlying events, trusting in His promise that ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.’ (Psalm 34:18)“
The Pacific Coast Academy settlement
The lawsuit alleges that all three girls were enrolled in Pacific Coast Academy in a home-schooling program where two teachers saw the girls every 20 days or so.
Similar to the other claims, the lawsuit alleges two teachers failed in their duties as mandated reporters.
The judge approved an $8.5 million settlement with the charter school. NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the school for comment but has not heard back.
A tentative settlement with San Diego County
Attorneys for San Diego County told the judge on Tuesday morning that they had also reached a tentative settlement – but the terms of the deal hadn’t yet been filed or approved by the court. The suit accused social workers of not properly investigating two abuse and neglect claims that were reported two years before Arabella died.
NBC 7 Investigates obtained records from the Child & Family Well-Being Department. They revealed that Highlands Elementary School workers reported controlling behavior by the McCormacks. Documents show that included claims of limiting food and water intake, restricting bathroom usage and forcing Arabella to sleep on the floor as punishment.
The suit also said social workers didn’t interview Arabella separately from her parents during investigations, stating “that children are unlikely to report abuse in front of their abusers.”
A county spokesperson didn’t acknowledge the tentative settlement with a statement, writing: “The county is continuing to work with plaintiffs to resolve this matter but continues to be prepared for trial if the parties are unable to do so.
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