HARTFORD — The Connecticut Supreme Court has upheld a $1 million jury verdict in a priest sexual abuse case against the Archdiocese of Hartford.
A jury in Waterbury Superior Court determined in 2012 that the archdiocese was reckless and negligent in letting the Rev. Ivan Ferguson work with children again in 1981 at the St. Mary’s school in Derby.
The lawsuit said Ferguson sexually abused a St. Mary’s student, known only as Jacob Doe in court documents, about 20 times between 1981 and 1983, beginning when he was 13. Court documents say the abuse happened after Ferguson received treatment for abusing other boys.
The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously rejected all the archdiocese’s arguments on appeal, including that there was insufficient evidence of negligence and recklessness.
Ferguson died in 2002.
