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$1.5 Million DuPage County Personal Injury Settlement In Aurora Sex Abuse Case Involving 13 Former Students

A $1.5 million Illinois injury settlement has been reached in the DuPage County sex abuse lawsuits filed by the families of 13 former gymnastics students against former coach Michael Cardamone, his mother Linda Lynch, and American Institute of Gymnastics. Lynch owns the Aurora gym.

According to the plaintiffs, Cardamone allegedly sexually abused the girls at the gym over several years. They are accusing Lynch of failing to properly supervise Cardamone even after she heard the complaints against him.

In 2005, the 32-year-old was convicted of molesting seven of the girls. He was sentenced to a 20-year prison term, but an appeals court overturned the verdict in 2008. He is waiting for a retrial.

Despite the DuPage County sex settlement, Cardamone?s family continues to claim that he is innocent of the allegations.

Child Sex Abuse
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, about 80,000 child sex abuse incidents are reported each year. Many sex abuse cases go unreported. The abuser can be a family member, a teacher, a coach, a counselor, a doctor, another person the child knows and trusts, or a stranger.

Sex abuse causes personal injury. In addition to physical injuries from sexual assault or rape, the emotional damage and psychological trauma sustained can last a lifetime. Other effects of sex abuse:

? Sleep issues
? Depression
? Sexual issues
? Aggressiveness
? Suicidal tendencies
? Alcoholism
? Alcoholism
? Drug addition
? Post traumatic stress disorder

Victims and their families may have grounds for filing a Chicago sex abuse lawsuit against the abuser. Even if the abuse happened when the victim was younger, you may still be able to recover Chicago injury damages.

13 gymnasts to split $1.5 million to settle suit against former coach Michael Cardamone, Chicago Sun-TImes, January 4, 2010

Michael Cardamone case: Suits against Aurora coach in sex abuse cases settled for $1.5 million, Chicago Tribune, January 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-cardamone-05-jan05,0,7415821.story
Child Sexual Abuse, American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry

American Institute of Gymnastics

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on January 05, 2010 (boomark / email).