By Eddie Cota

On March 24, the Whittier City Council approved $4 million in new settlements tied to lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors in the city's Police Explorer program, bringing the total the city has agreed to pay to $7.5 million.

The settlements resolve multiple lawsuits spanning allegations from the late 1970s through the 1980s, when teenage girls participating in the department’s youth program were allegedly groomed and sexually abused by officers associated with the program and entrusted with their supervision.

What is the Explorer program?

The Whittier Police Department's Explorer program is a volunteer program that allows young people between the ages of 16 and 21 to gain experience in law enforcement. A junior program is also available for teens as young as 12. Participants assist with clerical work, traffic control, and community events.

Central to the program is the ride-along component, which places a single Explorer in a patrol vehicle with a single officer, often for an entire shift and late into the evening.

It is this structure that sits at the center of the allegations. According to the lawsuits, officers used ride-alongs to isolate underage female Explorers and coerce them into sexual activity.

The program remains active today.

The allegations against Charles Drylie

Former Whittier Police Officer Charles "Chuck" Drylie has been named in multiple lawsuits involving the Explorer program, including cases previously reported in 2022. He served as an Explorer advisor and worked for the department from the 1970s through the early 2000s.

According to court filings and attorney statements, Drylie is alleged to have used his position to groom and sexually abuse teenage girls in his patrol car during ride-alongs, at the police station, and at his home.

The lawsuits allege that the abuse was not limited to Drylie. Several of the women say they were abused by multiple officers. An unnamed corporal who replaced Drylie as Explorer advisor allegedly continued the pattern of sexual abuse. A lawyer for the corporal has said his client did nothing wrong, and the corporal was dismissed from the case.

Court filings and plaintiff testimony describe a culture within the department at the time where misconduct involving Explorers was tolerated and officers protected one another.

Drylie's attorney, Steve Rothans, has denied the allegations. In a 2022 interview with the Whittier Daily News, Rothans said Drylie had 33 years with the department and had been honored as officer of the year. The allegations described in the lawsuits have been denied by those accused.

What the city knew

The lawsuits allege that multiple officers knew or should have known about Drylie's conduct and that the department failed to act.

A sworn declaration made available by the firm of attorney Anthony DeMarco, who represented the four women in the $3.5 million settlement, offers firsthand corroboration of these claims. In it, a former Whittier police officer who served on the force from 1977 to 1989 states that Drylie personally told him he had had sex with one of the plaintiffs. The same officer states that he observed another officer's interactions with two high school-aged female Explorers that led him to believe the officer was having sexual relations with them. He also states that other Explorers were aware of and discussed the relationships among themselves. The declaration was signed under penalty of perjury.

The lawsuits allege that rather than remove Drylie from contact with minors, the city reassigned him to a community relations role that involved working with children. He was later placed as a School Resource Officer at La Serna High School, where he eventually began teaching courses in administration of justice and forensic science. He remained at La Serna at least until the lawsuits were filed against him.

No criminal charges were filed against Drylie due to the statute of limitations. In a deposition, he invoked his right against self-incrimination. Drylie is still alive.

(Declaration from a former Whittier police officer describing alleged conduct within the department during the 1970s and 1980s. Document provided by DeMarco Law Firm)

The $3.5 million settlement: four women, four decades of silence

The first wave of cases involved four women who were between 14 and 18 years old when the alleged abuse occurred in the late 1970s. They had joined the Explorer program with aspirations of careers in law enforcement.

For decades, none of them came forward. That changed in 2020, when a television commercial about Boy Scouts of America abuse prompted two of the women to open up to each other for the first time. They discovered they had both been victimized by the same officer and had kept it secret independently for over 40 years.

Lawsuits followed. The City Council approved a $3.5 million settlement in October 2025, and payment was made on March 13, 2026, shortly before the first of the cases was set to go to trial.

The four women were represented by DeMarco, who previously secured a $4 million settlement for three victims in a similar Explorer program abuse case involving the Irwindale Police Department in 2018. DeMarco has described ride-alongs as among the least safe components of any youth-oriented program when it comes to protecting minors from sexual abuse.

The $4 million settlement: Brady and Louk

The two remaining cases, Constance Brady v. City of Whittier and Leslie Louk v. City of Whittier, describe similar allegations involving the 1980s. The lawsuits include claims of grooming, abuse during ride-alongs, and failures by the city to intervene despite warning signs. Each case will be settled for $2 million.

Brady is represented by attorney Brian Williams. Louk is represented by a legal team that includes Greenberg Gross and Jeff Anderson & Associates.

The Brady case was first reported by the Whittier Daily News in 2022, when she was working for the Whittier Police Department as a dispatcher. Her attorney said Brady chose not to keep her name confidential. She is the only plaintiff across the three cases to publicly identify Drylie by name to the media. The four women in the earlier settlement filed under Jane Doe pseudonyms.

Court filings in both cases describe alleged incidents spanning the early to late 1980s and raise questions about oversight of the program during that period, including whether warning signs observed by others were acted upon.

The City Council approved both settlements on March 24, 2026.

The city's response

In a March 18 press release, the City of Whittier said it is working to resolve lawsuits filed by six plaintiffs who allege misconduct by former police officers in the 1970s and early 1980s during their involvement in the Explorer program. The city said it takes the allegations seriously while placing the highest value on the safety and well-being of community members.

The city said the alleged incidents occurred decades ago and that the defendants involved had not been employed by the department for many years prior to any allegations being made. The city also stated that federal and state laws, as well as city policies, have evolved to establish mandatory reporting and investigation policies.

The settlements do not include an admission of liability. Settlement costs are being covered jointly by the city and its insurance provider.

A pattern beyond Whittier

The Whittier cases are not isolated. Police Explorer programs across the country have faced similar allegations of officers abusing minors entrusted to their supervision, particularly during ride-alongs.

What comes next

In total, the city has now agreed to pay $7.5 million to resolve multiple lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors connected to the Explorer program.

According to DeMarco, additional individuals have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse by Whittier police, suggesting further lawsuits may follow.