Jury Awards $12.5M To Girl Molested In Ambulance
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Wayne County jury has made a $12.5 million award in the case of a 14-year-old Grosse Ile girl who was molested while being transported in an ambulance between two hospitals in 2006.
The jury Wednesday found attendant Matt DeFillippo 70 percent responsible and Superior Ambulance 30 percent responsible.
The then-35-year-old St. Clair Shores man was sentenced to two to 15 years in prison for third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was paroled in 2009.
The ambulance was taking the girl from Harbor Oaks Hospital in Brownstown Township to Harbor Oaks Hospital in New Baltimore in July 2006.
According to the Detroit Free Press, lawyers said evidence showed that DeFillippo raped the girl in the presence of the driver. The driver reported the incident to a supervisor, who responded, "Cover our asses."
Defense lawyer Summer Heil said the Roseville-based company turned DeFillippo in to police.
Heil said what happened to the girl is "reprehensible" but Superior Ambulance should not be held responsible for the criminal acts of DeFillippo.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
