Facts

The plaintiff, who for privacy reasons is only identified as John Doe, was just 11 years old when he was placed in the foster home of John Jackson in Mountain View, California. Over the course of four years from December 1995 to March 1999 when Doe was removed from the home, Jackson forced Doe into more than 600 acts of sexual abuse.

The defendant in the case, Giarretto Institute, was licensed by the State of California to supervise and monitor the Jackson foster home. At trial, the jury was presented extensive evidence showing that Giarretto Institute did not properly train its employees, many of whom had other full time jobs and worked for the company on a part-time, off-hours basis. When allegations of sexual abuse were raised by the foster children, Giarretto Institute did not have any supervisors with sexual abuse experience, so the allegations were not properly investigated and were found by Giarretto Institute’s staff to be unsubstantiated.

Doe is now 25 years old and suffers from residual mental distress as a result of the years of abuse.

Verdict Information

A $30 million verdict was handed down August 4, 2010, following a two-and-half week trial and slightly more than one day of deliberation. The Santa Clara County jury was comprised of seven woman and five men. The jury found Giarretto 75 percent responsible for the injuries to Doe and Jackson 25 percent responsible. Giarretto is responsible for $22.5 million of the $30 million verdict.