Court Digest

California
Jury delivers $135M verdict in molestation case involving middle school teacher
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A jury has delivered a $135 million verdict in a molestation case involving a middle school teacher, determining that negligence by a Southern California school district allowed the abuse of two students during the 1990s.

Jurors in Riverside County Superior Court decided Tuesday that the Moreno Valley Unified School District is 90% responsible for the damages, while former teacher Thomas Lee West is 10% responsible, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers. The ruling means the district will pay $121.5 million.

“The verdict that was reached is unprecedented, and the district is weighing its options moving forward,” the school district said in a statement Wednesday. It’s estimated that insurance will only cover about 11% of the district’s portion of damages, the statement said.

During a criminal trial, West was convicted of committing lewd or lascivious acts with minors. He is currently serving a 52 years-to-life sentence in Mule Creek State Prison.

The two former students said in their civil lawsuit that they were repeatedly abused by West during 1996 and 1997 when they were sixth graders at Vista Heights Middle School east of Los Angeles. The lawsuit said district officials should have known that West posed a threat to students.

As a result of the abuse, the victims have suffered “life-long mental and emotional distress,” their lawyers said in a statement.

“The psychological effects of the severe and pervasive abuse have left both men shells of who they would have been but for the abuse made possible by the District,” the statement said.

The district said it has implemented many changes since the incidents occurred and it continues to monitor and update industry best practices.

“Although it happened under a previous administration over 27 years ago, the district understands the lifelong impact of these traumatic experiences. The district knows that it can never undo the past, the hurt and anguish suffered by these individuals,” the district statement said. “We truly hope they continue to recover from these incidents.”

Massachusetts
Man, 70, reaches settlement with  diocese over sex abuse at age 8
FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — A 70-year-old man who recently reached a settlement with a Roman Catholic diocese in Massachusetts over sexual abuse he suffered at age 8 said Wednesday he is speaking out because “my voice was taken away from me for all those years” and he wants to help others like himself.

“There were a number of details that bring that memory back, painful details,” Claude Leboeuf said at a news conference in Fall River. “I could feel muscle pain, sometimes emotional pain. I can visualize them. I can never know when those memories come flashing back to me. But that’s how it happens. It’s very real to me.”

Several years ago, Leboeuf, of Providence, Rhode Island, contacted Mitchell Garabedian of Boston, a well-known lawyer for clergy and sexual abuse victims. Leboeuf said he was abused in 1960 at a church in Attleboro, Massachusetts, by the Rev. James Porter, who pleaded guilty in 1993 to molesting 28 children during the 1960s and 1970s while he was a priest in the Fall River Diocese.

Porter, who had left the priesthood by that time, was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison. He was scheduled to be released in 2004, but the state moved to have him classified as sexually dangerous to keep him behind bars indefinitely. He died in 2005.

Garabedian said he’s represented dozens of people who said they were sexually abused by Porter. He said “a mid-five-figure settlement” was reached with the diocese for Leboeuf, declining to be more specific.

Back in the early 1990s, the Fall River Diocese adopted a policy to prevent sex abuse by priests. It had reached an undisclosed settlement with 68 people who said they were molested by Porter.

“The actions of former priest James Porter decades ago are a painful reality in the history of the Diocese of Fall River,” the diocese said in a statement. “Through its Victim Assistance outreach, the Diocese of Fall River offers supportive services to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their families throughout the legal process and continuing after a conclusion is reached.”

Garabedian said Leboeuf was able to prevail despite an expiration of the statute of limitations in Massachusetts to file a claim in child sexual abuse cases.

More survivors are pursuing cases as states increasingly consider repealing time limits for child sex crime lawsuits. Vermont was the first state to remove the limits in 2019, followed by Maine in 2021 and Maryland this year. A bill in the Massachusetts Legislature has been referred to committee.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they were victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward, as Leboeuf has.

Alabama
Woman seeks to avoid jail after falsely reporting she was abducted
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama woman accused of falsely telling police she was abducted after stopping to check on a toddler wandering along the highway is appealing her municipal court conviction in an effort to avoid a yearlong jail sentence sought by prosecutors.

A municipal judge on Wednesday found Carlee Russell, 26, guilty of misdemeanor charges of false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident. The guilty judgement came after Russell’s attorneys agreed to “stipulate and appeal” the case — a legal maneuver to move the case to circuit court where proceedings will start anew.

Russell’s summer disappearance — and her story of being abducted after stopping her car to check on the child — captivated the nation before police called it a hoax.

Flanked by her family and attorneys, Russell made her first court appearance Wednesday amid a heavy media presence, news outlets reported.

Defense attorney Richard Jaffe said in a telephone interview they do not think jail time is appropriate. He said they agreed to an arrangement called “stipulate and appeal.” It is a court agreement in which a defendant acknowledges the evidence against them, a guilty decision is entered and the case is appealed to the circuit court.

“We’ve requested a jury trial. That gives us an opportunity between now and then to explore all of our options and to try to work something out with the prosecution that does not involve jail time but does involve a fair restitution amount,” Jaffe said.

News outlets reported that prosecutors are seeking a year of jail time. Russell’s attorneys said they don’t think she should serve jail time for a misdemeanor offense.

“We don’t think jail time for a first-offender with a class A misdemeanor is reasonable because that just doesn’t happen,” Jaffe said.

Jaffe said he understands that state prosecutors want jail time as a deterrent to potential future hoaxes. But he added that a conviction, restitution and the publicity surrounding the case will also have a deterrent effect.

Russell disappeared on July 13 after calling 911 to report a toddler beside a stretch of interstate. She returned home two days later and told police she had been abducted and forced into a vehicle. Police began quickly casting doubt on Russell’s story. Her attorney had issued a statement through police acknowledging there had been no kidnapping and that she never saw a toddler. Russell in the statement apologized to law enforcement and the volunteer searchers who had been looking for her.

“We ask for your prayers for Carlee, as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward, understanding that she made a mistake in this matter. Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers,” Emory Anthony said in the July statement.

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis previously said he was frustrated that Russell was only being charged with two misdemeanors despite the panic and disruption she caused. But he said the law did not allow for enhanced charges.

Sherri Papini in California was sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to federal agents and staging her 2016 fake abduction, which led to a three-week, multi-state search.


Washington
Former sheriff’s deputy sentenced to prison for stalking wife
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A former sheriff’s deputy in Washington state who was fired last year has been sentenced to prison for stalking his now ex-wife and repeatedly violating a no-contact order.

Michael Phipps, 50, pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to stalking, first-degree malicious mischief, three counts of violation of a no-contact order and disclosing intimate images, The News Tribune reported.

Judge TaTeasha Davis on Monday imposed a high-end sentence of nearly 2 1/2 years in prison. Phipps’ attorney, Bryan Hershman, told the newspaper he thought the outcome of the case was fair overall.

Phipps received credit for the 468 days he’s served in confinement, according to court records, 345 of which were on home monitoring.

The former deputy caused at least $50,000 in damage to the Eatonville home he shared with his wife in May 2022, according to court records. She had obtained a protection order against him, and police had been trying to serve the order since March last year.

Prosecutors alleged Phipps knew about the order before it was served, and he sent texts to his wife that included explicit photos of her, threatening to send them to her boss and every contact they had.

His wife also alleged he shot a gun into the floor and grabbed her neck in a 2021 incident, according to a court filing in the protection order case. She said he was involuntarily committed in February last year after further incidents.

Attorneys wrote in court filings that Phipps sought mental health treatment following the death of colleagues and his father, but the medications he was prescribed were ineffective and he started self-medicating with alcohol.

Phipps was fired from the Sheriff’s Department shortly after he was arrested by Corona, California, police at a hotel last June. A department spokesperson previously said Phipps violated department policy on breaking the law. Phipps had been a deputy since November 2000.

He fled to California after he trashed their home, according to court records.

When police entered the house Phipps shared with his wife, they said they discovered water pouring out of light fixtures and vents. Water was flowing out of an upstairs toilet that had been smashed, and there was reportedly a gouge in the kitchen floor consistent with being struck with an ax.

The former deputy posted a $100,000 bail bond in October 2022 and was released to electronic home monitoring and alcohol monitoring. Phipps was allowed to go to treatment for substance abuse and therapy for post-traumatic stress. As part of his sentence, Judge Davis ordered Phipps undergo further treatment for mental health and alcohol abuse.