Oklahoma teen awarded $1 million in sexual abuse lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A federal judge has awarded $1 million against a former Oklahoma teacher who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 for sex crimes involving her teenage student.

An attorney for 31-year-old Jennifer Caswell says she will be in prison for the next several years and has no money to pay her former student.

The Oklahoman reports that the former student and his father sued Caswell and the Hollis School District in 2015 over the sexual relationship.

The school district agreed to pay $125,000 to settle claims that the boy’s school participated in covering the sexual abuse. It won’t be liable for the $1 million against Caswell.

An attorney for the teenage boy and his father says his clients sued because they wanted to bring attention to the problem of sexual abuse by teachers.