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The guardian of a 4-year-old girl allegedly raped by two boys living in the same foster home has filed a $3.5 million lawsuit against the boys, the foster parents and state child welfare workers.

The lawsuit claims that Grace and Jacob Cummings, who operated the foster home, and state Department of Human Services employees Cori McGovern, Sabra Darcy and Karli Solari failed to protect the girl.

The DHS workers should have known that the boys posed a threat to the girl and that the Cummings would have difficulties supervising them, the suit said.

The alleged rapes and sexual abuse occurred in June and July 2013, a few months after the girl was placed at the Cummings' home in Yoncalla, about 20 miles south of Cottage Grove, the lawsuit said.

Alice A. Walker, a court-appointed guardian for the girl, identified only as E.H., seeks damages for sexual battery, negligence and abuse of a vulnerable person -- $100,000 for the girl's future counseling and psychological treatment and $3.4 million in noneconomic damages.

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"There is no excuse for what happened to this little girl," said attorney Clay McCaslin, who represents her. "E.H. and the children of this state who are in foster care deserve better. This is a case about keeping children safe."

According to the lawsuit, the boys, 12 and 15, took the girl to a barn on the Cummings' property where they sexually assaulted her on three occasions.

The boys admitted to police that they engaged in sexual activity with the girl, the suit said. One of the boys made a video of himself sexually assaulting the girl, it said.

The girl "emerged from the barn with her pants down" and said the boys had physical contact with her genital area, according to the suit.

The Cummings waited a day before reporting the incident to police, the suit said.

The lawsuit claims child welfare workers should have known they were placing E.H. in danger because of two boys' backgrounds and the inability of the Cummings to provide adequate supervision.

"There were a total of two adults and seven children, two of whom had special needs and exerted unreasonably high demands on the Cummings' attention and capacity," the lawsuit said.

DHS "failed to remove E.H. from the Cummings home despite information that she was being subject to neglect and was at high risk for abuse," according to the suit.

The Cummings are no longer certified by DHS as foster parents, said agency spokeswoman Andrea Cantu-Schomus.

"We cannot comment on this case at this time due to pending litigation," Cantu-Schomus said.

Grace Cummings didn't respond to a request for comment Friday.

The boys were arrested on July 16, 2013. Ten days later the girl was moved to a foster home in Southwest Washington.

The older boy was charged with first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy, the lawsuit said. He is now in custody at the Rogue Valley Youth Correctional Facility.

The younger boy was charged with first-degree rape and three counts each of first-degree sexual abuse and first degree sodomy, the suit said. He is currently in Multnomah County under Oregon Youth Authority jurisdiction.

-- Steve Mayes

503-294-5916; @ocmayes