By Perry Stein
Miami Herald
November 9, 2011
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/10/2495864/jury-awards-victim-100-million.html
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| Rev. Neil Doherty |
A jury awarded a sexual assault victim an unprecedented $100 million in a case against the Rev. Neil Doherty, a priest formerly with the Archdiocese of Miami, whose long list of accusers say he used his position of power to drug and rape them when they were boys.
Jessica Arbour, one of the lawyers representing the victim, said her firm, in an unusual move, decided to explicitly named Doherty in the lawsuit, filed earlier this year.
The dozens of other cases filed by Arbour’s law firm have sued the Archdiocese of Miami, accusing it of covering up Doherty’s abuse and putting him in a position where he could further abuse boys.
The latest victim was 14 years old when the abuse started in 1986.
“This was a chance for [the victim] to be empowered and hold Father Doherty personally accountable for what he did,” Arbour said.
This is the first civil case filed against Doherty that has reached a jury. The dozens of other civil cases filed against him have typically settled for around $50,000.
Arbour said that the jury awarded the victim $10 million in compensatory damages and $90 million in punitive damages – fines that are used to punish the defendant and to deter other people from committing the same crime in the future.
Contact: pstein@MiamiHerald.com
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