Victim Awarded $30M In Sex Abuse Case Involving Nassau Teacher

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — Jurors in Nassau County awarded $30 million to a man who said he was sexually abused by his fifth-grade teacher in Rockville Centre decades earlier.

The plaintiff, Michael Malvin, told the jury that David Savage abused him multiple times starting in 1979, when he was 10 years old. It continued until 1983, Malvin said. Malvin consented to be identified through his lawyer.

The case was vigorously defended by Savage, who denied sexually abusing Malvin.

On Oct. 12, the jury found Savage sexually abused Malvin when he was a child, Malvin's attorneys said.

In what is believed to be the first Child's Victims Act case that was defended in New York, Malvin's lawyers got their client $6 million for past pain and suffering, plus an additional $4 million for future pain and suffering.

However, the financial payout was secondary in this case.

"[You] can't put a price on, 'We believe you,'" Malvin attorney Scott Occhiogrosso told Patch.

Malvin was also awarded $20 million in punitive damages against Savage.

"He was certainly happy with the outcome," Malvin attorney Frederick Aranki told Patch. "He certainly felt vindicated."

The attorneys, who are partners at personal injury firm Block O'Toole & Murphy, said the amount the jury settled on for damages was fair and just.

In a post to his Facebook page in 2017 prior, Malvin described how the abuse affected his psyche.

"In addition to the sexual and emotional abuse, he was a master manipulator and went to great lengths to pit me against my parents. At one time he discussed the possibility of my running away with him forever to Florida," he wrote

The Rockville Centre School District did not immediately respond to Patch's request seeking comment.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Child's Victims Act into law Feb. 14, 2019. It allowed survivors of sexual abuse in New York the opportunity to file a civil lawsuit against the abuser, and potentially the institution responsible, no matter how long ago the abuse took place.

Savage is represented by attorney Michael Cibella, who did not immediately respond to comment.

"If you are someone who wants to be with children sexually, please hear my pain. Please hear the pain of everyone who says, 'Me Too,'" Malvin wrote.

If you are someone who has been sexually assaulted and you seek immediate assistance, please contact the New York State Hotline for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence at 1-800-942-6906. If it is an emergency, call 911.