$2.6M settlement awarded to teen at Los Padrinos juvie hall after officers orchestrated 'gladiator fights'
LA County to pay teen over alleged 'gladiator fights'
LA County has agreed to pay a nearly $2.7 million settlement to a minor who was physically assaulted by other detainees at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in an attack that was organized by officers.
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County awarded a $2.67 million settlement to a detainee at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey over claims the minor was physically assaulted by other juvenile detainees in so-called "gladiator fights" that were organized by correctional officers.
What we know:
According to documents from the County Board of Supervisors, on December 22, 2023, Jose Rivas Barillas, who was 16-years-old at the time, was physically attacked while in custody. Documents report that several deputy probation officers orchestrated, provoked, and encouraged a physical assault on him by other juvenile detainees.
What led to the fights
The plaintiff claims that after arriving at Los Padrinos, an officer and her colleagues demanded to know his gang affiliation. He responded by saying he wasn't in a gang, but the officer continued to press him by responding that she was aware he was from the "Canoga" gang, and commented that she "hoped he could fight," documents revealed. The officer then allegedly directed other juvenile detainees to attack Barillas.
"During the incident, Plaintiff was repeatedly punched, kicked, and stomped, while DPO One and her colleagues watched without intervening, or otherwise stopping the attacks from occurring. Video footage of this incident was published by the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets. On the video, DPO One appears to be organizing the timing of the attacks while her colleagues looked on. At no point did anyone attempt to stop the attacks outright or render aid to Plaintiff. Uninvolved probation staff noticed discrepancies between DPO One’s report and the injuries of Plaintiff and elevated these inconsistencies to management," a document from the county read.
The involved employees were placed on leave.
Investigation into gladiator fights
Dig deeper:
The Department of Justice began their investigation in January 2024 after they received leaked footage of the so-called gladiator fights.
In March 2025, Rob Bonta announced that 30 officers at Los Padrinos were facing criminal charges of child abuse and endangerment for allegedly staging the fights.
PREV. COVERAGE: Officers at LA juvenile hall facing criminal charges
Thirty LA County Correction officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall have been charged with child abuse stemming from so-called Gladiator fights that they planned at the detention center, AG Bonta announced. (March 3, 2025)
The fights happened at least 69 times between July 1 and December 31, 2023 and involved up to 140 youths. The kids were between the ages of 12 and 18, Bonta explained.
The Source: Information for this story came from documents released by LA County and previous FOX 11 reports.