MINNEAPOLIS - A Hennepin County jury late Friday afternoon returned a verdict of over $13.5 million in the case of a 3-year-old boy who was physically and sexually assaulted at a Kids Quest child care center at Grand Casino Mille Lacs in 2008.
Twin Cities-based TSR Injury Law, which represented the victim and his family, in a news release reported that a jury of eight people returned a verdict of $13,532,032.94 after hearing the case over two weeks in Hennepin County.
According to evidence presented at trial, on Jan. 23, 2008, the 3-year-old victim, identified as JK, was entrusted to the care of the New Horizon day care center at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs. The center's staff left him unsupervised for more than 90 minutes, and during that time a 9-year-old boy physically and sexually assaulted him. Surveillance cameras in the day care facility captured some of the assault, but much of the crime took place outside the camera's view.
Within weeks of the incident, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe took away the day care operator's license, KARE 11 reported, determining the kids were not properly supervised.
According to evidence presented at trial, JK was beaten, strangled and raped. He suffered a subconjunctival hemorrhage in his eye from strangulation and numerous bruises all over his face and his body, as well as injuries from the sexual abuse. As a result of the assault, TSR Injury Law reported, "JK suffers extreme Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to this day. Now 10 years old, he is hyper-vigilant, prone to violent outbursts and has serious difficulties regulating his emotions or reacting to everyday stimuli. Medications and ongoing therapy have helped, but medical experts testified at trial that JK's damage would never fully heal."
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Due to incorrect information supplied to the Dispatch, a story in Wednesday’s paper regarding a $13.5 million verdict against a child care center contained the wrong name for the center. The center was Kids Quest not New Horizon. Also, Kids Quest is a drop-in hourly child care center, not a day care center.
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