Hospital Sex Abuse Case Goes to Jury, by Debra Bogstie, NBC Connecticut, May 5, 2011

Hospital Sex Abuse Case Goes to Jury

By Debra Bogstie
NBC Connecticut
May 5, 2011

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Jury-Deliberations-Underway-In-Sex-Abuse-Scandal-121351434.html

Dr. George Reardon during a hearing in the 1990s.

$5 million to $8 million won't erase the pain of the abuse John Doe #2 endured for eight years, at the hands of a trusted doctor. But, in asking jurors to award those damages, Michael Stratton, Doe's attorney, said it will help him move forward.

"There's a lot to be said for acknowledging he was wronged," said Stratton during closing arguments. "He lost his childhood."

Six jurors are now deciding if St. Francis Hospital in Hartford was negligent for failing to oversee the growth study Dr. George Reardon claimed he conducted back in the 1960s through the 1980s. Instead, Reardon used that study as a front to sexually abuse more than 500 children.

The abuse was uncovered in 2007, when 40,000 to 50,000 pornographic pictures were found hidden in a basement wall of Reardon's former West Hartford home during renovations by a new owner.

John Doe #2's case is the first of 93 lawsuits against the hospital to go to trial.

Police have only identified about 100 of the victims, who have come forward saying Reardon forced them to repeatedly pose for improper pictures, that he also sexually assaulted many of them and that he forced many of them into sex acts with other children.

During closing arguments, Stratton reminded jurors that St. Francis had rules in place to oversee all research projects and to protect child study subjects. Those rules weren't followed, Stratton said.

He also pointed out the hospital funded Reardon's research by paying for his photographic equipment, including 48,000 exposures of film. Yet, the hospital never asked any questions about why Reardon took so many pictures or why he developed and kept those pictures at his home, according to Stratton. "You can't see what you're not looking for," said Stratton, who called Reardon a dirty old man. "He might have been a monster, but he was their monster," Stratton said, referring to St. Francis Hospital.

Hospital attorney Paul Williams told jurors that St. Francis Hospital was duped just like the parents of the victims. "Dr. Reardon was a master manipulator," said Williams.

He also pointed out that photography was common among doctors back then, that St. Francis Hospital never received any complaints about Reardon, and that Reardon never submitted a proposal for his growth study, so oversight was not required.

He also told jurors Reardon was so deceptive, he likely would have hidden his criminal behavior from any review team if his research was scrutinized.

"If you look at the evidence, you will conclude the plaintiff has not met their burden of proof," said Williams.

Reardon died in 1998 before ever facing any criminal charges.

Jurors will continue their deliberations in this case on Friday.