St. Francis at Fault for Reardon Abuse:jury, by Bob Connors, NBC Connecticut, July 8, 2011

St. Francis at Fault for Reardon Abuse:jury

By Bob Connors
NBC Connecticut
July 8, 2011

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/St-Francis-at-Fault-for-Reardon-AbuseJury-125224429.html

A Waterbury jury found St. Francis Hospital at fault Friday for the sexual abuse of a child at the hands of Dr. George Reardon more than 40 years ago.

Along with its decision, the jury awarded the plaintiff, called Tim Doe in court, $2.75 million, according to the Hartford Courant. The six jurors deliberated for less than five hours before making their decision.

Reardon began abusing the victim when Doe was an 8-year-old. Most of the abuse took place in Reardon's St. Francis office. The doctor was able to gain access to the children under the guise of what turned out to be a bogus growth study.

The abuse of hundreds of children by Reardon came to light in 2007, when more than 50,000 sexually explicit photos of the children were found behind a wall in the West Hartford home once owned by the doctor. Reardon died in 1998.

Among the pictures were some of Doe, which the jury saw during the trial. Doe also provided detailed testimony about what Reardon had done to him.

This was the second trial against St. Francis. The first represented more than 30 of Reardon's victims. St. Francis reached a confidential settlement with the plaintiffs in that trial before it got to the jury.