Top Individual Sexual Abuse Verdicts and Settlements
The 10 largest individual personal injury results for sexual abuse cases on record here, ranked by amount: one client's, one family's, or one incident's recovery, never a pooled fund. Each links to the full story, the firm, and the record behind the number.
- $2,280,000,000 ($836 million compensatory plus $1.44 billion punitive; the church co-defendant had settled for $1 million and the mother for $200,000 before trial)VerdictNot collectableCA
$2.28 Billion Verdict for a Woman Her Stepfather Raped From Age 5 to 14 in a Lake Elsinore Home and at Church Events
A Riverside County jury awarded $2.28 billion on April 25, 2023, to a woman identified as Jane Doe who was sexually abused by her stepfather from age 5 until she was 14, at the family's Lake Elsinore home and at events and property of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The stepfather, who had pleaded guilty in 1997 to lewd acts with a child under 14 and served three years in state prison, admitted the abuse at deposition, then skipped the first day of jury selection and withdrew his answer rather than face a bench warrant. The church settled for $1 million and the mother for $200,000 before trial. The verdict, $836 million in compensatory damages and $1.44 billion in punitive damages after three days of deliberation, is one of the largest ever returned for a single survivor of childhood sexual abuse.
After trial: The stepfather withdrew his answer and did not defend the trial, and no appeal has surfaced in public records. The Los Angeles Times described the award as largely symbolic and unlikely to be fully paid because he was the only remaining defendant; the church ($1 million) and the mother ($200,000) settled before trial. The only remaining defendant is a private individual, a convicted sex offender who abandoned the case, with no insurer identified for an intentional tort; the row is tagged uncollectable and keeps its full rank under the standing rule. We could not confirm what, if anything, has been collected.
Dordick Law Corporation2023 · Riverside County Superior Court, Riverside, CaliforniaRead the full story → - $325 millionVerdictNot collectableTX
$325 Million Verdict for Child Sexual Abuse Survivor in Bexar County
A San Antonio jury returned the largest sexual assault verdict in U.S. history against a sole assailant, awarding $325 million to a child sexually abused by her grandfather over multiple years.
After trial: The verdict is against an individual defendant and is largely uncollectable.
The Carlson Law Firm2023 · 285th District Court, Bexar County, TX (Judge Nadine Nieto)Read the full story → - $300 millionVerdictMO
$300 Million Judgment for a Child Abused in Caretakers' Custody, the Largest Entered in Missouri in 2024
A St. Charles County judge entered a $300 million bench-trial judgment for a child, identified only as G.T., who was physically and sexually abused between the ages of three and five while in the care of Susan and James McLaurie, though one defendant died before the suit was filed and the only known insurance was a $303,000 policy.
After trial: The judgment is roughly a thousand times the only known insurance coverage; one defendant died before suit. Collection prospects are minimal.
- $177 millionVerdictMO
$177 Million Verdict Against Hyatt After Security Guard Assaults Sleeping Hotel Guest, Affirmed on Appeal
A St. Louis jury awarded $28 million in compensatory damages and $149 million in punitive damages to Shannon Dugan, a New Jersey sheriff's deputy who was sexually assaulted by a Hyatt security guard who used his master key to enter her hotel room while she slept. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the full award in December 2024.
After trial: Affirmed in full by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on December 3, 2024.
Davis, Bethune & Jones, L.L.C.2022 · Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, MissouriRead the full story → - $134 millionVerdictNot collectableOH
$134 Million Jury Verdict for Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor Leads to Ohio Supreme Court Constitutional Ruling
A Cuyahoga County jury awarded $134 million to a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and the Ohio Supreme Court later struck down a statutory damages cap as unconstitutional when applied to child victims of intentional criminal acts.
After trial: In December 2022 the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Ohio's statutory cap on noneconomic damages is unconstitutional as applied to child sexual-abuse survivors with catastrophic psychological injuries, reversed the appeals court, and reinstated the full $134 million jury verdict. Defendant Roy Pompa is serving life without parole for the underlying convictions, so the judgment against him individually is likely largely uncollectable.
The Fitch Law Firm2019 · Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court / Ohio Supreme CourtRead the full story → - $115,000,000 ($85 million compensatory plus $30 million punitive)VerdictCA
$115 Million Verdict Against a Former Stepfather Who Sexually Abused a Girl From Age 6 Into Her Twenties and Was Never Charged
On September 16, 2025, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Joseph Ruffalo, an 85-year-old former music manager and 1980s film producer, liable for sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress against his former stepdaughter, A.Z., who testified that he abused her from 1991, when she was six, until 2007, when she was 22. The unanimous jury deliberated two hours and forty minutes and awarded $85 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. A.Z. had reported the abuse to police in the United States and Britain without result; Ruffalo was never charged. Her mother was a co-defendant and resolved the claims against her before trial. Ruffalo told the jury he could not pay.
After trial: The defendant testified at the punitive phase that he could not pay and had no assets to speak of; collectability is unknown. Ruffalo's counsel said publicly after the verdict that they respect jury verdicts even when they disagree with them, and as of September 2026 no post-trial ruling or appeal has surfaced in public reporting or in appellate databases. We could not confirm entry of judgment or the status of any post-trial motions. The plaintiff has spoken publicly under her own name; she is identified here only by initials, and her mother and grandmother, both defendants, are not named because naming them would identify her.
Dordick Law Corporation2025 · Los Angeles County Superior Court, Department 57, Los Angeles, California (Case No. 20STCV34041)Read the full story → - $100 millionVerdictNot collectableNY
$100 Million CVA Verdict: Largest in New York History for Childhood Sexual Abuse
An Erie County jury awarded $100 million to a woman sexually abused over four years beginning at age 12, the largest Child Victims Act verdict in New York State history.
After trial: Awarded against an individual defendant and essentially uncollectable; the total includes $50 million in punitive damages.
- $95 millionVerdictNot collectableNY
$95 Million CVA Verdict Against Former Rochester Priest for 1979 Childhood Sexual Abuse
A Monroe County jury ordered former Rochester Catholic priest Foster Rogers to pay $95 million to a man he sexually assaulted in 1979, when the victim was 15 years old, in one of the largest Child Victims Act verdicts in New York history.
After trial: Awarded against an individual defendant; collection prospects are limited.
- $90,000,000 (as conditionally reduced by the trial court on the defendant's new-trial motion: $10 million compensatory plus $80 million punitive; $900,000,000 jury verdict, $100 million compensatory plus $800 million punitive)VerdictOn appealCA
$900 Million Verdict, Cut to $90 Million by the Trial Judge, for an Employee Raped by the Owner of FilmOn and Hologram USA
On June 17, 2024, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury unanimously awarded $900 million, $100 million compensatory and $800 million punitive, to a former employee of Alkiviades "Alki" David's companies who was sexually harassed and raped by him between 2016 and 2019. Liability had already been established before trial, so the jury sat only on damages, and the defense table was empty. In September 2024 the trial judge ruled that the award shocked the conscience and conditionally granted a new trial unless the plaintiff accepted $90 million, $10 million compensatory plus $80 million punitive. David filed a notice of appeal at the end of September 2024 and has said publicly that none of the women who have won verdicts against him will ever be paid.
After trial: In September 2024 the trial court conditionally granted the defendant's motion for a new trial on damages unless the plaintiff accepted a reduction from $900 million to $90 million ($10 million compensatory plus $80 million punitive), finding the compensatory award excessive because the jury heard net-worth and prior-verdict evidence before setting it. David filed a notice of appeal on or about September 30, 2024 (Mealey's). We could not confirm from public sources whether the plaintiff accepted the remittitur or the status of the appeal. David has publicly vowed not to pay, and earlier verdicts against him reportedly remain unpaid; nothing indicates any payment on this judgment.
Dordick Law Corporation2024 · Los Angeles County Superior Court, Department 76, Los Angeles, CaliforniaRead the full story → - $65 millionVerdictNY
$65 Million Verdict for Child Sex Abuse Survivor Against Former Buffalo YMCA Counselor
An Erie County jury awarded $65 million to a woman who was sexually abused over seven years as a child by former Buffalo YMCA counselor James B. Jackson, in one of the largest verdicts under New York's Child Victims Act.
All sexual abuse verdicts and settlements
24 results, largest first
A Riverside County jury awarded $2.28 billion on April 25, 2023, to a woman identified as Jane Doe who was sexually abused by her stepfather from age 5 until she was 14, at the family's Lake Elsinore home and at events and property of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The stepfather, who had pleaded guilty in 1997 to lewd acts with a child under 14 and served three years in state prison, admitted the abuse at deposition, then skipped the first day of jury selection and withdrew his answer rather than face a bench warrant. The church settled for $1 million and the mother for $200,000 before trial. The verdict, $836 million in compensatory damages and $1.44 billion in punitive damages after three days of deliberation, is one of the largest ever returned for a single survivor of childhood sexual abuse.
A San Antonio jury returned the largest sexual assault verdict in U.S. history against a sole assailant, awarding $325 million to a child sexually abused by her grandfather over multiple years.
A St. Charles County judge entered a $300 million bench-trial judgment for a child, identified only as G.T., who was physically and sexually abused between the ages of three and five while in the care of Susan and James McLaurie, though one defendant died before the suit was filed and the only known insurance was a $303,000 policy.
A St. Charles County jury awarded $247.3 million to six women sexually assaulted by an unlicensed massage therapist at Oasis Foot Spa & Massage in St. Peters, finding the spa and its owner liable for hiring him without any background check and ignoring an early complaint. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in full in 2024.
A St. Louis jury awarded $28 million in compensatory damages and $149 million in punitive damages to Shannon Dugan, a New Jersey sheriff's deputy who was sexually assaulted by a Hyatt security guard who used his master key to enter her hotel room while she slept. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the full award in December 2024.
A Cuyahoga County jury awarded $134 million to a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and the Ohio Supreme Court later struck down a statutory damages cap as unconstitutional when applied to child victims of intentional criminal acts.
A Dallas jury returned a $119.6 million verdict against the Catholic Diocese of Dallas after finding it grossly negligent and fraudulent in concealing years of sexual abuse by priest Rudy Kos; eight of the eleven plaintiffs, represented by Windle Turley, later settled for $23.4 million.
On September 16, 2025, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Joseph Ruffalo, an 85-year-old former music manager and 1980s film producer, liable for sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress against his former stepdaughter, A.Z., who testified that he abused her from 1991, when she was six, until 2007, when she was 22. The unanimous jury deliberated two hours and forty minutes and awarded $85 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. A.Z. had reported the abuse to police in the United States and Britain without result; Ruffalo was never charged. Her mother was a co-defendant and resolved the claims against her before trial. Ruffalo told the jury he could not pay.
Ohio State University agreed to pay $100 million to 279 of 280 remaining plaintiffs who sued the university over decades of sexual abuse by former team physician Dr. Richard Strauss; Estey and Bomberger was among co-counsel firms representing survivors.
An Erie County jury awarded $100 million to a woman sexually abused over four years beginning at age 12, the largest Child Victims Act verdict in New York State history.
A Monroe County jury ordered former Rochester Catholic priest Foster Rogers to pay $95 million to a man he sexually assaulted in 1979, when the victim was 15 years old, in one of the largest Child Victims Act verdicts in New York history.
On June 17, 2024, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury unanimously awarded $900 million, $100 million compensatory and $800 million punitive, to a former employee of Alkiviades "Alki" David's companies who was sexually harassed and raped by him between 2016 and 2019. Liability had already been established before trial, so the jury sat only on damages, and the defense table was empty. In September 2024 the trial judge ruled that the award shocked the conscience and conditionally granted a new trial unless the plaintiff accepted $90 million, $10 million compensatory plus $80 million punitive. David filed a notice of appeal at the end of September 2024 and has said publicly that none of the women who have won verdicts against him will ever be paid.
Thirty-two male survivors of a school-contracted psychiatrist who abused students across more than two decades reached an $80 million settlement with Kamehameha Schools, described at the time as the largest personal-injury settlement in Hawaii history.
An Erie County jury awarded $65 million to a woman who was sexually abused over seven years as a child by former Buffalo YMCA counselor James B. Jackson, in one of the largest verdicts under New York's Child Victims Act.
An Erie County jury awarded $30 million to a man who was sexually abused as a child by Rev. Douglas D. Thore, a Lutheran pastor in Marilla, NY, in what was reported as the largest Child Victims Act verdict in Western New York at the time.
A Santa Clara County jury awarded $30 million to a man who endured years of sexual abuse as a foster child, finding the Giarretto Institute 75 percent responsible for licensing and failing to monitor the Mountain View home where the abuse occurred.
An Erie County jury awarded $25 million to a man sexually abused by his Boy Scout troop leader in Cheektowaga during the early 1970s, in what presiding Judge Mark Grisanti described as the first jury verdict reached under New York's Child Victims Act.
E.M. was a boarding student at the Yeshiva of New Haven from 2001 to 2005, and from age 14 to 17 the school's rabbi and chief administrator, Daniel Greer, sexually abused him on a frequent, sometimes weekly basis. In May 2017 a federal jury in Connecticut awarded E.M. $15 million against Greer and the school, and on June 6, 2017 the court entered a $21,749,041.10 judgment after adding $5 million in punitive damages and $1.75 million in offer-of-compromise interest. The Second Circuit affirmed in full on March 3, 2020, rejecting the argument that the award was excessive. Greer was separately convicted and sent to prison; by 2021 less than $240,000 of the judgment had been collected, and E.M.'s collection suits against Greer's real-estate nonprofits were resolved privately in 2024.
A girl of 14 was married to her 19-year-old cousin in a ceremony Warren Jeffs arranged and performed himself, over her objections, and then pressured to bear children. She sued Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 2005 under the initials MJ. Neither defended. On September 5, 2017 Judge Keith Kelly entered a $16,000,000 default judgment: $4,000,000 in damages and $12,000,000 in punitive damages. Jeffs is serving life plus 20 years in Texas.
Lanier Law Group secured a $12.5 million settlement for 65 UNC School of the Arts alumni who alleged sexual abuse by faculty spanning from the late 1960s through the early 2010s.
A Mobile jury awarded $7 million, $3 million compensatory and $4 million punitive, against AltaPointe Health Systems after a mentally incapacitated 19-year-old patient at its BayPointe Children's Psychiatric Hospital was sexually assaulted by another, unsupervised patient and staff did not report it for roughly a day.
A Monroe County jury unanimously awarded $5.45 million, including $3 million in punitive damages, to a man who was sexually abused as a child by Father Joseph Grasso, principal of Siena Catholic Academy in Brighton, New York.
A Delaware County jury awarded more than $3.6 million to a teenager who was raped by a pastor at Grace Brethren Church of Delaware, Ohio, whose leadership had ignored prior documented warnings about the man's conduct with minors.
In 2015 a woman on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation called authorities because she was worried someone might be drinking and driving. The Bureau of Indian Affairs officer who responded assaulted her. A federal judge fixed damages at $1.6 million in 2020, and after nearly a decade of litigation over whether the United States was responsible, ordered it to pay in 2025.