RivCo Woman Awarded $2.2 Billion, LDS Church Agrees To Pay $1 Million In The Settlement

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.

Child Sexual Assault Cases On The Rise Due To 2022's 'Look-Back' Window

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.

The law was a broad expansion of the original statute of limitations for victims to sue. For victims older than 40, the law created a three-year 'look-back window,' to sue regardless of when the alleged crime happened. The law also expanded the definition of childhood sexual abuse to"sexual assault."

Nearly A Decade Of Assault At The Hands Of Her Stepfather, Former LDS Church Elder

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."

"Justice in Riverside yesterday for our courageous client in my first jury trial with my two daughters, Michelle and Taylor," Dordick said on his Facebook page. "There is nothing more rewarding than standing up and fighting for victims of sexual assault. Our client wants her message to be heard!"

Read also:

CA 'Look-Back' Window Closing For Adult Victims Of Childhood Sex Abuse | Temecula, CA Patch