Associated Press
November 10, 2008
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A woman who sued her stepfather after claiming she was repeatedly sexually abused as a child has been awarded $4.5 million in damages.
A Marion County jury awarded the 24-year-old woman $1.5 million for pain and suffering before a judge awarded her $3 million in punitive damages in a separate hearing without the jury on Monday.
The woman’s attorney said it was 1 of the largest awards in a sexual abuse case in the history of the state.
Testimony at trial indicated the woman was only 12 when her stepfather, Edward Webb, would tie her up, force her to wear nylons and then abuse her.
Webb’s attorney, Robert Gunn, declined to comment on the case.