By Jorge Casuso

October 22, 2025 -- The City Council on Tuesday is poised to renew a $510,000 contract to help safeguard against sexual abuse at City-run youth programs after paying $229 million to settle past cases.

Under a proposed five-year contract, Praesidium, Inc. will conduct a "thorough" on-site review of the programs' operations and "continuously" review all reported allegations, according to City staff's report to the Council.

The Child Protection Officer responsibilities provided by the nationally recognized consultant will be eventually transitioned to internal staff that has been gradually assuming the duties, staff said.

If the extension is approved, the City's contract with Praesidum will total more than $1.1 million since the consultant was hired to provide the services in March 2020 under a $625,000 contract.

The City first hired Praesidium in November 2018 to conduct a "comprehensive review" of all youth programs in the wake of an alleged series of sex crimes possibly dating back to the late 1980s by former City employee Eric Uller.

Between January and October 2019, the consultant conducted more than 100 interviews and onsite visits that covered 38 programs, according to staff.

"This extensive work evaluated current practices, identified gaps in protection protocols, and assessed the overall environment surrounding youth programming," staff wrote in the report.

Based on the findings, Praesidium recommended establishing a Youth Protection Committee, setting standard policies and procedures and hiring a Child Protection Officer to collect and review materials, a post the consultant would assume.

Under the current contract, Praesidium "conducts a thorough (annual) review of all program policies, procedures, training records, background check compliance, and incident reporting protocols."

The consultant also "continuously reviews all reported allegations, implements appropriate corrective actions based on investigation findings, and conducts follow-up reviews."

"This approach ensures that all City youth programs consistently operate according to established best practices and maintain compliance with child protection policies and procedures," staff wrote.

Uller, who was a volunteer at the Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL), was arrested in October 2018 by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs’ Special Victims Unit for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor 14 or 15 years old. He committed suicide three weeks later.

Since then the cases against the City have surged reaching a total of 229 plaintiffs who have received $229 million in settlements, likely making it the largest sexual abuse settlement by a city in the nation's history.

On Monday, the Council held a special closed session meeting to discuss an additional 32 cases filed by more than 180 plaintiffs since the last round of cases was settled in April 2023.

In addition to hiring Praesidium, the City in October 2018 launched an independent investigation into "allegations that the City previously knew, or should have known, of Mr. Uller’s alleged criminal conduct," according to a statement from the City at the time.

The investigation conducted by the law firm of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo also would review "whether the City had in place sufficient procedures to encourage reporting of such conduct, and to ensure that reports are acted on."

In January 2020, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed its Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau was engaged in an ongoing probe of Santa Monica City Hall.

No updates on the investigations have been provided.