$1M verdict for teen, already a victim when she was assaulted by an officer
NEW ORLEANS — The city of New Orleans owes $1 million to a teenager who was already a victim of sexual abuse when a police officer, who had previously been accused of misconduct, continued to abuse her, posing as a friend and mentor before ultimately attacking her himself.
The verdict came Wednesday after a three-day trial, New Orleans news outlets reported. In the 2021 lawsuit, attorneys for the victim and her family said the officer, Rodney Vicknair, was assigned to transport the victim to a hospital “despite a history of complaints, specifically predatory behavior toward women,” authorities said.
The lawsuit blasted the police department as irresponsible for ordering Vicknair to transport the girl and for being slow to respond to a complaint, allowing him to assault the victim before being arrested. Shaun Ferguson, the now-retired police superintendent, is also a defendant.
Vicknair had been a New Orleans police officer since 2007, according to court records. He was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison in the related criminal case. Court records show he died on Jan. 1 of this year.
Vicknair was initially arrested on state charges including sexual abuse, but pleaded guilty in federal court to deprivation of rights under the guise of law.
Prosecutors said at the time of his arrest that when Vicknair took the victim to the hospital in 2020, he offered to be the girl’s friend and mentor, often showing up at her home unannounced. But over time, according to court documents, he began making comments to her that were sexual in nature, eventually convincing her to send him sexually explicit photos of herself that he kept on his phone. The sexual abuse began when she was 14 and continued after she was 15, according to court documents.
The complaint alleges that Vicknair was assaulted on multiple occasions, one of which occurred after police received a report of his behavior but before he was arrested.
According to news organizations, the city’s attorney declined to comment on Wednesday.