Posted on 04/29/2023 10:44:59 AM PDT by simpson96
LAKE ELSINORE, CA — The stepdaughter of a former Lake Elsinore Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) elder was awarded over $2.28 billion in damages this week in a civil lawsuit, her attorney Gary A. Dordick reported. He called it the largest award for a victim of childhood sexual assault.
The victim, referred to as Jane Doe to protect her identity, claimed her stepfather sexually assaulted her from the age of 5 until she was 14 years old. She is now 41.
The jaw-dropping award, reached after three days of jury deliberations, included $836 million in general damages and $1.44 billion in punitive damages. The stepfather never appeared in court, according to Dordick.
While the LDS Church, commonly called Mormon, denied any wrongdoing, it settled out of court for $1 million.
The victim's mother also settled out of court for $200,000.
The case is one of many that was filed at the end of 2022 during the 'look-back' window, where adults were able to file civil suits against child sexual abusers years after the fact. Many recent civil cases against large organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Catholic Church, SeaCoast Grace megachurch in Cypress and prominent celebrities such as boxer George Foreman were filed during a period of time known as the 'look-back' window. Victims were able to seek recompense in cases dating back decades. That look-back window closed on Dec. 31, 2022.
On Oct. 13, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 218 into law. Authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, the law allowed victims of childhood sexual assault to file civil claims for damages within 22 years of reaching adulthood or within 3 years of discovering that childhood abuse caused psychological trauma into adulthood.
(snip)
According to a recent report in the Press Enterprise, the victim was first assaulted in 1987, after she joined the church. Court records show that she was a mere five years old the first time she was sexually assaulted.
The sexual assaults continued until she was 14, in 1994.
The assaults took place at both the victim's Lake Elsinore home and at church events at the local LDS Church, in which both her mother and stepfather were active, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit stated that the ongoing acts of abuse brought the victim to the "brink of suicide."
"The bishop talked about forgiveness," according to court documents, but the assaults continued even with her mother's knowledge, according to the report. The abuse continued until her stepfather's arrest, and he pleaded guilty to one count of committing lewd conducts with a child under the age of 14.
The victim just wanted her longtime abuser to be held responsible, Dordick said. "We would like to take whatever he has as a punishment."
They were both active in the church or active church members. Which is normal church speak. Elsewhere it clearly states that assaults continued even after the mother had knowledge of them. Generally that means the mom dithered before contacting authorities or failed to contact them at all. But the stepfather was arrested, so somebody eventually reported the sob.
If she gets almost 3 billion for that I should get $50 million because a vicar once spoke sternly to me.
In other articles, it states that she told two different bishops who shamed her into silence rather than follow policy and report it to police.
Eventually she told her basketball coach, who did the right thing.
Aha! That is an entirely different matter, and pretty important. Thanks.
The award may not survive appeal, and as long it is against the individual and not the Church, they will be lucky to get a penny on the dollar.
Where is this $2.28 billion going to come from?
The victim already got 1.2 million in settlement money from the church and her mother.
Maybe all she wants now is to grind stepdad beneath her heel. He will never own anything again. If he has any real assets or property, she can put liens on them. When he dies, his heirs will get nothing because any estate assets will have to satisify the judgment.
That might feel pretty damn good.
“active participant” meams active.
But... $$$.
Yes it can’t erase the pain but it can make coping with it easier by adding better memories.
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