Doe, afraid that others would discover their secret relationship, became socially isolated from her teenage peers and began to struggle with eating disorders, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health conditions.
NEW YORK – Crumiller has obtained a default judgment and award of $3,750,000 in a child sex abuse lawsuit stemming from a decade-long campaign of abuse against our client that began when she was just 13 years old.
Jane Doe filed a lawsuit on August 13, 2021, one day before the window closed to file claims under New York’s Child Victims Act (“CVA”). The CVA created a “lookback window” that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for all sexual offenses committed against children in the state of New York.
A similar lookback window for adult survivors of sexual assault is currently in effect through November 23, 2023.
Doe first met defendant Javier Gonzalez in an AOL chatroom in June 2002, when she was 13 and he was 23. That night, Gonzalez showed up at Doe’s home and snuck in through her bedroom window in an attempt to have sex with her, but he was detected by Doe’s father and escaped.
Soon after, Gonzalez began an unlawful sexual relationship with Doe and spent many years perpetrating a cycle of physical and emotional abuse that lasted well into her adulthood. Doe, afraid that others would discover their secret relationship, became socially isolated from her teenage peers and began to struggle with eating disorders, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health conditions.
Sad woman in shower; image by Meghan Hessler, via Unsplash.com.
While Doe eventually managed to leave the relationship as an adult, she has struggled with the trauma of Gonzalez’s abuse her entire adult life.
Gonzalez has been ordered to pay $2,000,000 in compensatory damages and $1,750,000 in punitive damages.
The case is Jane Doe v. Javier Gonzalez, No. 21-cv-04580 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Statement from Travis Pierre-Louis, Associate Attorney at Crumiller:
“Our client is delighted that the Court has formally ordered judgment against child predator Javier Gonzalez. While no amount of money will ever make up for the horrific abuse Doe suffered as a child, we are immensely proud of her for standing up to her rapist. We are also thrilled that the award of nearly $4 million creates excellent case law for future sex abuse plaintiffs.”
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