纽约州梅里克市(Merrick)前儿科医师斯图尔特·科珀曼(Stuart Copperman)被控在其位于自宅地下室的诊所对超过百名女性进行性侵,案件历时数十年,最终法院于近日裁定他需赔偿16亿美元给受害者。 Nassau court awards $1.6 billion to 104 women who alleged sexual abuse by former Merrick pediatrician Stuart Copperman, one of the largest judgments of its kind in US history, experts say. “This man ruined my life,” one survivor told me. https://t.co/D4c2j71Cgv
— David Olson (@DavidOlson11) April 1, 2025
综合外媒报导,这些指控涉及的案件多数发生于1960至1990年代,当时科珀曼的诊所主要接待儿童患者。儘管多次有受害者向当地警方和医疗机构投诉,但当时未对其提出刑事指控。2000年,科珀曼因六名受害者的指控而被吊销医师执照。然而,直到2019年纽约州通过《儿童受害者法》(Child Victims Act),才为受害者提供了法律追诉的机会。在法律的支持下,超过百名女性对科珀曼提起诉讼,要求赔偿。
Starting in the 1980s, New York law enforcement and health officials fielded sexual abuse complaints from the young patients of a respected pediatrician who ran his practice out of a basement office in his home on Long Island.
— Qᴀɢɢ.ɴᴇᴡꜱ (@qaggnews) April 9, 2025
But Stuart Copperman was never charged with any… pic.twitter.com/ZTJLIYos9B
依据法院的裁定内容,赔偿金额从50万美元至3200万美元不等,具体金额取决于受害者的案件情节。其中,63岁的拉斯维加斯圣公会牧师黛比·罗德斯(Debbi Rhodes)获得2500万美元的赔偿。她表示,儘管无法改变过去,但法院的裁定让她感受到被信任和支持,对她而言,这是重要的疗伤过程。
目前,科珀曼已89岁,居住在佛罗里达州,儘管法院已作出裁定,但由于科珀曼的年龄和财务状况,受害者是否能实际获得赔偿仍存在不确定性。
New York pediatrician accused of sex abuse ordered to pay $1.6 billion to 104 women, including priest in Las Vegas https://t.co/Nvn9xBopcp
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 9, 2025