Supposedly began when he was 4 years old
A man is suing his adoptive grandmother, alleging she sexually abused him for nine years beginning when he was 4 years old.
The plaintiff is identified only as John Doe in the Compton Superior Court lawsuit in which he alleges sexual battery and harassment, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The defendant, having adopted Doe's mother, is the plaintiff's adoptive grandmother. She could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit brought on April 6.
The adoptive grandmother began molesting Doe in 2009 when he was 4 years old and continued the harm until he was age 13, according to the suit. The boy and his mother lived with the defendant and the abuses only occurred when the mother was away at work at night, the suit states.
“Defendant manipulated plaintiff by convincing him that what was happening was a positive or good thing,'' the suit states.
The adoptive grandmother led Doe to believe that withholding the abuses was a means of punishment, which she would do when he misbehaved at school, the suit states.
As a minor at the time, the plaintiff could not consent to the sexual acts and his adoptive grandmother stood in a unique position of trust, authority, respect and power over him, creating a special relationship in which she had an obligation to protect him, according to the suit.
“However, the defendant did not protect plaintiff, a minor child, but rather created a volatile and traumatic home environment that served only to torment and corrupt plaintiff's innocence as a child,'' the suit states.
Doe has reportedly suffered financial losses and experienced emotional distress that includes post-traumatic stress disorder as well as memory loss, the suit states.
