Ex-foster child gets $30M in Calif sex abuse case

[Kadie]

Ex-foster child gets $30M in Calif sex abuse case
Thursday, August 5, 2010

(08-05) 18:19 PDT San Jose, Calif. (AP) --

A Northern California boy who was the victim of more than 600 sexual abuse acts while in foster care has been awarded $30 million by a jury, his lawyer said.

Stephen Estey, who represented the former foster child in his lawsuit against Giarretto Institute said his client, now 25, broke into tears when the verdict was read Wednesday in a Santa Clara County court. He said it's the largest award in California this year for a single-person sex abuse case.

"He's got a little more faith in humanity," Estey said.

The jury found Giarretto Institute negligent for failing to properly monitor and investigate the Mountain View home of John Hardy Jackson, who was convicted in 2006 of sexual abuse.

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Jurors also concluded that Giarretto Institute, which was licensed by the state to supervise the home, was 75 percent responsible for injuries to the child and Jackson was 25 percent responsible.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/08/05/state/n174506D39.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0vmq6BqrE