2 Daughters Win $1.15 Million in Sex Abuse Case

Two sisters who alleged that for 18 years they had repressed memories of their father’s sexual abuse were awarded $1.15 million by an Orange County jury, attorneys said Friday.

The jury reached the decision Thursday night against the father, John R. Phillips, 60, of Rancho Santa Fe, after deliberating less than three days in a trial that took about eight weeks.

R. Richard Farnell of Newport Beach, who represented LaDonna Wilson, 36, and her half sister, who did not want to be identified, said they “felt that it was very supportive to know that their testimony was believed.”

Wilson and her sister, both of Lake Forest, said they sued Phillips for money to help them deal with the psychological trauma and to warn child molesters.

“If just one child is protected by this verdict and if just one molester has as many sleepless nights as my sister and I experienced, the suit will have been worthwhile,” Wilson said.

The award could increase. The jury returns April 8 to consider punitive damages against Phillips.

Phillips, the owner of J.R. Phillips Co., which manages mobile home parks throughout California, is Wilson’s stepfather and her younger half sister’s biological father.

The case marks the latest chapter in a widely watched dispute over recovered-memory therapy. Two years ago in a landmark case, Gary Ramona won $475,000 after a Napa County Superior Court jury concluded that two Orange County therapists and a hospital had reinforced his daughter’s false memories of sexual abuse.

Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing Holly Ramona in the girl’s civil lawsuit, said the Orange County verdict involved one of the largest jury awards of its kind in Southern California. She also said it was a significant victory because few cases involving adult survivors of sexual abuse ever go to trial.

“This is a tremendous tribute to the survivors and their courage,” Allred said.

Usually, these cases are settled before trial, or victims think it’s too late to file a lawsuit because of the statute of limitations, she said.

The sexual molestations began when each daughter was about 5 years old and continued until one was 18 and the other was 12 years old, Farnell said.

The memories began to return when Wilson began having anxiety attacks, one of which hospitalized her.

“Once when she was in the house she grew up in, she went into the same bedroom . . . and she had a flashback seeing a man and a little girl,” Farnell said. “When she visited her father and saw him over one of his younger daughters in a different marriage, she had another attack. She kept having these discrete memories.”

During the trial, Wilson, her sister and mother testified about a time Wilson’s bed came crashing down on a box of kittens. When others came into the bedroom, Phillips was there naked, Farnell said.

“Everyone in that family recalled that incident,” Farnell said.

Dr. Diana Elliott, an expert in the area of sexual abuse, testified on behalf of the sisters that young victims of abuse protect themselves by disassociating the incidents so they can continue with their lives.

Phillips’ attorney, Gerald Blank of San Diego, said his client had maintained his innocence during the trial, and he declined to comment on the jury award.