05/22/2012
By Eric Heisig
A judge has awarded $160,000 to a Bayou Blue man who said he was labeled a child sexual predator via a series of emails and flyers sent out by Houma Police.
[name withheld], 51, filed suit against Terrebonne Parish and Houma Police officer Angela Domangue and said his reputation was damaged when Domangue sent out notices to local schools that he was "watching school children" and to call police if he was seen. [name withheld] was never arrested, ticketed or charged in any way, though court papers say police had received several reports about him "stretching in a provocative way."
The suit was first filed in federal court in 2008 but was re-filed in Terrebonne District Court last year. Late last month, District Judge Johnny Walker ruled in favor of [name withheld], saying he was publicly defamed by the notices and his right to privacy was violated when personal information was dispersed, court papers say.
On Monday, Walker awarded [name withheld] $140,000 worth of damages and $20,000 for his medical expenses. [name withheld] had sought treatment for the anguish caused by the situation, court papers say.
Barron Whipple, [name withheld]'s attorney, did not immediately return a message for comment.
The suit stems from an incident on October 2008, when [name withheld] was running on a public jogging path and stopped near St. Gregory Barbarigo School, 441 Sixth St., court papers say. Children were outside playing, and while he told a school employee that he was "merely resting between running intervals," police were called, the petition says.
Officers arrived and — without arresting [name withheld] or issuing a citation — asked him to leave and not to return.
The lawsuit says police officers, specifically Domangue, investigated his background. It also alleges his picture, birth date, descriptions of his physical appearance, the car he drove and other personal information were sent to several local schools. The schools are not named in the suit, but court papers listed Houma Junior High, the School for Exceptional Children and Lacache Middle School.
"In short, Mr. [name withheld] had been characterized as a sexual danger to local children," court papers filed on [name withheld]'s behalf say. "Such a characterization brought shame to Mr. [name withheld] and his family and caused him ongoing mental anguish and distress."
The findings of fact submitted by the parish said [name withheld] was seen "rotating his hips," "thrusting his hips forward" and "pushing on a chain link fence with his body, licking his lips and looking at (the children)."
He had been previously warned by officers not to return to the area, court papers filed by the parish also say.
After he returned a second time, Domangue produced the flyer and sent it out to four elementary schools. The act was not against any Houma Police policy, the findings say, and Domangue did it because [name withheld]'s repeated presence alarmed her.
Police Chief Todd Duplantis declined to comment after the judge's decision was handed down.
It was not immediately clear if the parish would appeal the suit. Alexander Crighton, the parish's attorney in the suit, did not return multiple phone calls.
No comments:
Post a Comment