A jury awarded millions of dollars in damages to an eight-year-old New Mexico girl who was sexually assaulted numerous times while in foster care.
The amount was $485 million, and the case involved a foster care program in the state, Fox News reported Wednesday, noting the verdict was handed down July 7 once Rio Arriba County jurors heard days of testimony.
“I think the message that was sent, first and foremost, is that this little girl matters,” Attorney Joshua Conaway told KRQE.
The testimonies heard highlighted allegations regarding corporate negligence, the outlet continued:
The program allegedly placed the girl in the home of a foster parent despite knowing that he had been accused of sexual assault, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in 2019. It was one of more than a half-dozen cases arising from sexual assaults of children in the program.
Clarence Garcia, 66, pleaded guilty in January to seven counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and was sentenced to up to 20 years of probation. Court records show Garcia was accused of sexually abusing six children under his care over six years.
Garcia was also required to register as a sex offender, according to KRQE.
Later, officials alleged Garcia violated his probation in April following a search of his property and found items such as toys, a book featuring children in “suggestive poses,” and firearm accessories.
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) defines child sexual abuse as “a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor.”
“A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period,” the organization states.
According to the Fox report, “The jury awarded $80 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages against Acadia Healthcare, the operator of a now-defunct licensed residential treatment facility in New Mexico.”
However, Acadia claims the victim was not in its direct care but was in a program operated by the nonprofit group Familyworks.
Now, that group and a defunct Acadia program known as Youth and Family Centered Services of New Mexico must each pay millions of dollars in punitive damages regarding the case.
“I think it was an opportunity for a jury and a group of citizens here in the state of New Mexico to hold a national, publicly traded corporation accountable for its actions,” Conaway noted.
In 2019, state officials revoked a license for Desert Hills, which was owned by Acadia, following reports of sexual abuse and violence at the facility for children with disabilities and behavioral problems.
The Fox report noted authorities had ordered operators to close the facility, adding Desert Hills operated the Familyworks nonprofit group.
Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced in August, and he could spend the next 42 years behind bars.
“You had an angry jury in Rio Arriba County,” KOAT Legal Analyst John Day said of the case:
“This jury was trying to send a message, and that message was, ‘If you’re going to engage in that kind of conduct, if you’re going to be that negligent, if you’re going to allow little victims to be hurt like that, you’re gonna pay,'” he added.