Advocating for Survivors of Sex Abuse Blog

New Mexico Jury Awards $485 Million to Eight Year Old Survivor

Published: August 7, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

The foster care system has failed an eight-year-old New Mexico girl, and will finally pay the price. $485 million in damages has been awarded by a Rio Arriba County jury in the civil case against Clarence Garcia, the 66-year-old foster parent assigned to the young girl. Read More

New York Child Victims Act Grants Sex Abuse Survivor $95 Million

Published: July 27, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

The New York Child Victims Act has granted a survivor of childhood sexual assault the opportunity to receive $95 million. The unnamed Rochester man was assaulted by Reverend Foster P. Rogers in 1979. Read More

New York Child Victims Act is Ruled Constitutional

Published: July 19, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

New York State’s Child Victims Act was ruled constitutional earlier this month after a taxing Supreme Court battle. This recent development has the potential to alter the course of many survivors’ lives for the better. Read More

Cleveland Dance Instructor Found Guilty of Sexually Assaulting Former Students

Published: July 10, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

A Cleveland dance instructor found guilty of sexually assaulting his former students was sentenced by Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kevin Kelley to life in prison on June 8th, 2023. Read More

The Trumbull County Court Determines That a Child Abuse Victim Has a Right to His Day in Court

Published: June 26, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

In the case of Fonderlin v. Trumbull Family Fitness, 2023 WL 2472994 (Eleventh District 2023), the Trumbull County Court of Appeals in Ohio concluded that genuine issues of material fact existed, warranting a trial as to whether the fitness operator assumed and violated a duty to supervise a child who was sexually assaulted by two other children in an unsupervised locker room while in the Trumbull Family Fitness afterschool program. Read More

Supreme Court Allows Ohio State University Sex Abuse Lawsuits to Move Forward

Published: June 26, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

Over 100 men abused by Ohio State University medical doctor Richard Strauss in the late 1970s finally have an opportunity for justice. The Supreme Court has allowed lawsuits against Strauss to move forward, rejecting an appeal made by the university. Read More

Cummings: How the Supreme Court Said Goodbye to Emotional Distress Damages in Title IX Cases…

Published: June 22, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

Last year, the Supreme Court issued a decision in a disability discrimination case that has made it harder for young sexual abuse and harassment victims to recover damages. In the matter of Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C, 142 S.Ct. 1562 (2022), the plaintiff, a deaf and legally blind woman, sought physical therapy services from the defendant to treat her back pain. Because of her physical limitations, the plaintiff primarily communicated using American Sign Language and requested that the defendant provide her with an interpreter during her session. The defendant refused, but offered to provide her therapy using written notes, lipreading or gesturing or allowing the plaintiff to provide her own interpreter. The plaintiff stated that she could not communicate using these methods and sought therapy at another physical therapy provider. Read More

Sumner-Bonney Lake School District Settles Sex Assault Lawsuit

Published: June 9, 2023

By: Andy Goldwasser

The Sumner-Bonney Lake School District outside of Tacoma, Washington, has reached a $7.6 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the family of a developmentally disabled girl who alleged she was sexually assaulted by a classmate due to the school’s failure to protect her. Video evidence presented during the case showed the classmate holding open the door to a boys’ bathroom, where the assault took place. The lawsuit claimed that despite prior concerns about the girl’s safety, the school lacked the resources to provide adequate supervision. Read More.

New Mexico Jury Awards $485 Million to Eight Year Old Survivor

New York Child Victims Act Awards Sex Abuse Survivor $95 Million

New York Child Victims Act is Ruled Constitutional

Cleveland Dance Instructor Found Guilty…

The Trumbull County Court Determines…

Supreme Court Moves OSU Sex Abuse Lawsuits Forward…

Cummings: Supreme Court Decision on Title IX Cases…

Sumner-Bonney Lake School District Settles Sex Assault Lawsuit