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Jury awards $16 million judgment against convicted sex abuser Associated Press NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. - A central Kentucky jury awarded $16 million to a girl who was sexually abused three years ago, but she may only collect a fraction of that amount. The girl's mother had filed the civil suit, seeking damages on behalf of her daughter, against James T. Evans, 72, a Vietnam veteran whose only income is Social Security and disability benefits. The verdict could be a deterrent that might spare others from abuse, said David Thomas, the Nicholasville lawyer who along with co-counsel John Reynolds represented the girl and her mother. "We told the jury that, if by this they could keep one person from doing this ... then maybe it's worth it," Thomas told the Lexington Herald-Leader. While the verdict does not set a record for damages in a sexual-abuse case - in 1999 a Louisville man was awarded $30.5 million against the abuse he suffered as a child from his stepfather - Thomas said it might set a record for a civil judgment in Jessamine County. The jury issued its unanimous verdict after a one-day trial Oct. 11 in Nicholasville. The jury deliberated one hour and 10 minutes before returning the verdict, and awarded $7.5 million for past and future mental and physical suffering, future medical and counseling expenses, and expenses for medicines in the future, plus $8.5 million in punitive damages. The sexual abuse occurred in December 2003 when the girl was 9 years old, according to court records. Evans was convicted on one count of first-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to five years in prison. He served six months in prison but was granted shock probation in September 2005 and was released.
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