Global Courant 2023-04-28 04:20:10
A Riverside Superior Court jury on Tuesday awarded a woman $2.28 billion for years of sexual abuse by her stepfather, her lawyer announced.
The 39-year-old Riverside woman, known in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, sued her stepfather, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and her mother, who she said she knew about the sexual abuse, but did nothing about it. protect her, according to a press release from the law firm of Gary Dordick.
The jury awarded the woman $836 million in punitive damages and $1.44 billion in punitive damages.
Church denied wrongdoing, but settled her portion of the lawsuit for $1 million in December, and the woman’s mother settled in February for $200,000. according to news reports.
The stepfather admitted in an affidavit of abuse and rape, but did not appear at the trial.
Doe was attacked by her stepfather from age 5 until she was 14; it ended when he was arrested and convicted of lewd acts with a minor. The abuse took place in their home and on the grounds of the Mormon Church, of which both Doe’s parents were active members.
According to the lawsuit, Doe attended Mormon Sunday School and other youth programs between 1987 and 1997. Her stepfather began using and manipulating church doctrine when Doe was about 5 years old to nurse the child, according to the lawsuit.
During the time she was abused, Doe disclosed the abuse to several members of the Mormon church, including a bishop. Instead of notifying the police, the bishop gathered Doe, her mother, and her stepfather in a joint meeting, spoke of repentance, and instructed Doe to forgive her stepfather and the bishop.
Doe then told another bishop about the abuse, but said she was silenced by the other bishop and other counselors, who said she would go to jail and harm her family by publicizing the crime.
Doe said her mother knew her stepfather was sexually abusing and grooming her, but her mother did nothing to protect her daughter and continued to share a home with him.
In 1997, Doe was in high school in Lake Elsinore and noticed that her stepfather was looking at her basketball teammates “in an inappropriate way,” according to the lawsuit. Doe told her basketball coach about the sexual abuse, and the coach reported it to a counselor. Doe’s stepfather was arrested the same day.
He pleaded guilty to all charges and was convicted on 55 counts, according to the lawsuit. According to news reports, the stepfather served three years in prison. Her mother and members of the Mormon Church were in court to support Doe’s stepfather. Her mother remained married to him for two years after his conviction.
