A pediatrician from Long Island, New York, was ordered to pay $1.6 billion to 104 women who accused him of sexual abuse.
The ruling came after a Nassau County court reviewed each of the suits against Dr. Stuart Copperman, who did not present a defense, Newsday reported.
Debra Zuckerwise was awarded $25 million after she said Copperman repeatedly sexually assaulted her starting at age 5.
“This man ruined my life,” Zuckerwise, who became a heroin addict after the abuse, told Newsday. “I went to heroin because it helped to numb the pain. I didn’t want to feel, I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to know anything.”
Copperman’s medical license was revoked by the state in 2000, though he was never charged criminally with a crime. He previously denied the allegations, claiming he was being thorough in his examinations, conducted after he ushered the parents out of the room, Newsday reported.
While it is unlikely the victims will receive even fraction of the judgment, advocates said it was important for them to receive justice. Lawyers have retained a collections specialist to begin pursuing compensation from Copperman, who now lives in Florida, CBS News reported.
“It was about truth,” Kristen Gibbons Feden, who represented the victims, told Newsday. “It was about accountability and finally giving these survivors the voice they were denied for decades. What Copperman did to these children was really unspeakable.”
Zuckerwise said Copperman was “a monster.”
“He did so much damage to us girls,” she told Newsday.
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