Oregon agency agrees to $1.3M settlement for foster child

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s child welfare agency has agreed to pay a $1.3 million settlement to a girl who was placed with a foster father later accused of sexual abuse.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the state placed the 4-year-old girl into the Gresham home of Gabriel David Wallis and his wife in 2014.

The lawsuit claimed the state certified Wallis as a foster care provider despite observing warning signs like he was a self-identified sex addict.

The suit claimed Wallis abused the girl in 2014, and the state neglected her safety by placing her in his home.

Wallis was charged with rape and six counts of first-degree sex abuse, but he was acquitted of all charges in June 2015.

An Oregon Department of Human Services spokesman declined to comment.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com