Man Awarded $7 Million in Sexual Abuse Case Against New Fairfield Boy Scout Leader

A man who claimed he was sexually assaulted by the leader of a New Fairfield Boy Scout Troop in the 1970s was awarded the largest amount ever in compensatory damages levied against the organization on Friday, the Connecticut Post reports.

The man, who was not named, was awarded $7 million by a state superior court jury.

The plaintiff testified that New Fairfield boy scout troop leader Siegfried Hepp sexually molested him three times. Evidence showed that Hepp had sexually molested another boy scout during the same time and in 1999, he registered as a sex offender in an unrelated case.

During the two-week trial, evidence presented showed that sexual abuse was prevalent in the boy scout before the 1970s, the publication reports. However, the boy scouts hid the information trying to protect their All-American image.

The plaintiff was 11 and 12 during the time he was allegedly abused. According to the Hartford Courant, the lawsuit was one of two filed in Waterbury that alleged abuse by the same troop leader.

The verdict is the first ever of its kind in the northeastern United States.

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