Connecticut Jury Awards $7M In Boy Scouts Abuse Case
WATERBURY, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Connecticut jury has issued a $7 million verdict against the Boy Scouts of America in a lawsuit by a man who says he was sexually abused by a scout leader in the mid-1970s.
Lawyers for the man say the decision handed down Friday in Waterbury Superior Court was the largest verdict for compensatory damages against the Boy Scouts of America, WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported. The jury also found the Boy Scouts liable for punitive damages, with the amount to be determined by a judge.
A Boy Scouts spokesman says the organization disagrees with the verdict and will review the decision. A lawyer for the group said it plans to appeal.
The plaintiff alleges he was 11 years old when he was sexually abused by New Fairfield scout leader Siegfried Hepp. A message seeking comment was left Monday at phone listings for Hepp in Connecticut and Florida. He wasn't a defendant in the lawsuit.
Jurors not only found the Boys Scouts negligent in their management of this case but, said Paul Slager, the plaintiff's attorney, they also found the organization continued to market its services without disclosing its knowledge of years of similar abuses that occurred in troops across the country.
Slager said his client has led a very difficult life as a result of the abuse he endured as a child.
"He managed now to come forward in a very courageous way and talk about this in a public forum," Slager said. "And as a result, the jury found that the Boy Scouts of America were culpable in allowing this to happen to him as a child.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)