A jury awarded $3.68 million Friday to a woman who was sexually assaulted by a teacher at Children's Theatre Company in the 1980s, but CTC denies claims it failed to protect her.
At the same time the number of women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault began to swell, Laura Stearns said she realized she could no longer stay silent about her own abuse. The decision found former CTC teacher and Twin Cities businessman Jason McLean liable. He did not testify in the case. Stearns says it happened in 1983 when she was 15 and he was in his late 20s.
Former Governor Mark Dayton signed the Minnesota Child Victims Act into law, which expanded the statute of limitations for such crimes.
"It is my sincerest hope that what we've accomplished through this lawsuit and what will be accomplished by the other 16 survivors who filed suits because of the abuses they suffered at CTC that we will inspire countless others to dig deep inside themselves to find their voices," Stearns said.
Both sides though still dispute the role that CTC played.
Stearns' attorney Jeff Anderson says the jury found that CTC was negligent, but the negligence did not cause the abuse. CTC issued a statement saying that the jury did not find it negligent or liable for supervising and retaining McLean. CTC owes no damages in the case and says it has a "comprehensive list of practices to keep children safe."
Stearns and two other former students who spoke alongside Anderson at his St. Paul office Friday, though, say CTC silenced victims, which fed the abuse.
"They not only allowed, but nurtured an environment where children could be abused by multiple perpetrators," Stearns said.
Anderson said this is just the beginning in addressing multiple cases from the '70s and '80s.
"We have 15 cases lined up for trial and ready to go right behind this one," he said.
Anderson says he's been in contact with the Hennepin County attorney's office in McLean's case. McLean was the recipient of a $2.5 million default judgment in 2017 for sexually abusing a student. Anderson says McLean sold his assets and has been living in Mexico, but will be vigilant in trying to collect the funds for Stearns.
Here is the statement Friday from Children's Threatre Company in full:
“We thank the jury for its efforts to reach a just verdict and believe that the legal system afforded the parties a fair and impartial opportunity to make their cases and to have their truths be known. The jury ultimately found Jason McLean responsible for the 1983 assault and awarded Ms. Stearns $3,683,000 in damages, which McLean must pay. The jury found that CTC was not negligent in supervising and retaining Jason McLean. The jury also found CTC was not liable because CTC did not directly cause the assault of Laura Stearns by Jason McLean. As a result of this verdict, CTC owes no damages in this case. We accept the jury’s verdict and wish Ms. Stearns success in her efforts to collect the jury’s award from her abuser.
“We have tried to be as respectful as we possibly can in our conversations with Ms. Stearns and the other victims, with their attorneys, in our communications with the public and every other forum possible. To our core, we believe that any abuse of a child is a terrible act and we, too, want justice done and the truth to be known in these matters.
“Child safety is our highest priority and our rigorous policies and day-to-day practices reflect this priority. We have a comprehensive set of practices designed to keep children safe. Those practices have worked and they continue to be a centerpiece of our culture. This is an area in which we will never say ‘Enough’ but will instead strive to be better today than we were yesterday, and even better tomorrow.”