By Jorge Casuso

March 13, 2019 -- Six alleged victims of former City employee Eric Uller filed a claim Monday against the City and the Police Activities League (PAL) claiming they failed to protect them as children from sexual abuse.

The claim contends that the defendants ignored warnings and covered up allegations that Uller molested victims from the late 80s until possibly 2010, when he had access to hundreds of children as a PAL volunteer.

Uller, 50, killed himself in his Marina del Rey Apartment one week after pleading not guilty to three counts of lewd acts upon a child, two counts of oral copulation of a person under 18 and one count of continuous sexual abuse ("Uller Found Dead in Apparent Suicide," November 15, 2018).

The City has 45 days to respond to the claims filed by the Los Angeles-based law firm Taylor & Ring.

“It’s despicable that the city of Santa Monica and PAL chose to protect their own jobs and reputations rather than protect the numerous young boys who were abused by Uller for two decades,” said David Ring, who represents the plaintiffs.

“They knew of multiple allegations against Uller, yet did nothing to investigate the complaints and covered up the information, allowing him unfettered access to young boys.”

Shortly after Uller's arrest last October, the City announced it had launched an internal investigation into allegations City officials were warned about Uller's behavior and took no action ("Santa Monica City Officials Take Additional Actions as Sexual Assault Crisis Expands," October 25, 2018).

The City also hired an outside consultant to "review the policies and practices of its youth programs and provide guidance on best practices for preventing any future incidents of abuse."

On Tuesday, the City issued a statement saying it “is committed to responding to the allegations related to the charges formerly brought against Eric Uller with transparency and accountability.

“The city will carefully review the claims submitted today,” the statement said.