Jury awards $45 million over alleged abuse of two autistic students by Malibu school aide
By Matt Smith
30 May 2017
The jury in front of them in the trial of Malibu school aide Nicholas DiLorio has now decided to award $45 million in damages for the alleged abuses of two autistic students by the school aide. The amount is five times the amount the children’s family, their guardian and the school have claimed in their lawsuit.
The parents and guardian are seeking punitive damages and an additional four figures in damages associated with an allegation of abuse in a classroom where the two autistic students were students at Malibu Country Day School in Malibu, California.
A video has emerged on social media purporting to show how a mentally-handicapped 13-year-old autistic student named Kevin who attended the school, is allegedly abused during a visit by Nicholas DiLorio, an aide at the school. The parent of the child, who is not named in the video, claims that his son was “sexually molested” by DiLorio during the visit to the school.
The parents claim in a suit filed this month in Los Angeles County Superior Court that their son was “sexually abused by Defendant Nicholas DiLorio when Defendant Nicholas DiLorio visited the school” in February 2014. The parents claim that DiLorio “sexually molested” their son by kissing him on the lips, “penetrated his private area” and “forced” him to hold an eraser in his crotch. They claim that DiLorio “did not respect the boundaries” and that “it was clear that Defendant Nicholas DiLorio was trying to have sex with Plaintiff [Kevin].” They claim that DiLorio “used excessive force,” had sex with their son on two occasions, and had a history of sexual abuse of children.
In his testimony, DiLorio denied the assault allegations while testifying about himself and his relationship with the Malibu Country Day School students in general.
He testified that he and the students of the school were “friends.” He asserted that he was the “go to” student advisor to the students, and that he had been with the
