Wallace v. Der-Ohanian

In Wallace v. Der-Ohanian (1962) 199 Cal.App.2d 141, the defendant operator of a summer camp for girls gave a weekend party at the camp. The plaintiff was one of a number of girls, around age 11, who were assigned to a dormitory without any adult supervision. During the night an unknown intruder entered plaintiff's room and sexually abused her. The court upheld a judgment against the defendant, finding both a duty to the child and the foreseeability of harm in the particular circumstances of the case. With regard to duty, the court noted, "'The measure of precaution which must be taken by one having a child in his care, who stands in no relation to the child except that he has undertaken to care for it, is that care which a prudent person would exercise under like circumstances.'" ( Id., at p. 144.)