A San Bernardino County jury has awarded a record settlement to a man who suffered years of sexual abuse when a former deputy sheriff illegally took the boy from his home and into his care.
The child abuse survivor was awarded $33 million in his civil suit against San Bernardino County for the failure of multiple deputy sheriffs and a welfare fraud investigator to report his neglect. The failure allowed former Deputy Sheriff Jeremie Cox to take the boy into his home and sexually abuse him for three years.
The victim was around the 13 or 14 years old at the time he first met Cox, who threatened to fine him and his friends for throwing items at a vacant house, according to a news release from the victim's attorney.
"After that, over the next 1 and ½ years, Deputy Cox befriended the child, allowing him to play video games, watch shows and eat at the Deputy's home, and even began to take the child on hiking and camping outings," the release states. "Over that period of time, Deputy Cox became aware that his mother was neglecting him by leaving him for extended periods of time and failing to provide proper food."
In 2014 the child brought the deputy methamphetamine he said belonged to his mother. Rather than filing a child neglect report, Cox made arrangements with the mother and moved the child into his home, where he would sexually abuse him over the following three years.
During that time, the child accompanied the deputy and other deputies in ride-alongs, to the courthouse, and the Sheriff's Department. No sheriff's deputy made any CPS reports on the child's behalf.
At one point the child took it upon himself to report his mother to a welfare fraud investigator for continuing to receive welfare on his behalf despite providing no care to the child, who lived with Cox. The mother was charged, convicted and jailed, and still no one, including the welfare investigator, reported the child's neglect to proper authorities.
The victim reported the sexual abuse as soon as he was able to move out of his abuser's home. Cox, a 25-year veteran of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, was arrested while on duty.
The civil trial concluded on Sept. 23 after four weeks. According to the news release, the settlement is "believed to be the largest reported verdict for failure to report child neglect by mandated reporters."
Originally published on Latin Times.
