Fort Myers man ordered to pay $18 million in decades-old New York child sex crime case

A judge ordered a Fort Myers man accused of child sex crimes he allegedly committed five decades ago to compensate a victim.

Following a nonjury trial, New York Supreme Court Justice L. Michel Mackey last week awarded more than $18 million in damages to Patricia Egan, 65, years after Stewart Gordon, 78, of Fort Myers, abused her.

According to court documents, Gordon abused Egan, then 11, when he was her brother-in-law. The documents say Gordon abused Egan hundreds-to-thousands of times, from childhood into adulthood.

Egan suffered most of that abuse in Albany County, New York.

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The court awarded $10 million for past pain and suffering; $2 million for future pain and suffering; lost earnings of $1,534,345; and $275,951 for lost social security benefits.

Additionally, the court awarded Egan $5 million in punitive damages.

"It's not about the money," Egan said in a phone interview. "It's about the hope."

Egan said the opportunity to be heard brings her a sense of satisfaction.

"It was a long fight to get that window opened," Egan said. "It was very satisfying to finally be able to be heard and have my day in court, because I was told for so long that unless a window opened, he was protected by the statute of limitations."

"This is a person who was sexually abused by Mr. Gordon, who was a family relative and isn't like the Boy Scouts or the Catholic Church where there was a lot of money to be had," said Peter J. Scagnelli, of the Scagnelli Law Firm, who represented Egan in court.

Egan, who now lives in California, filed the lawsuit under the New York State Child Victims Act — which allows adults who were victims of sex crimes during childhood to file a lawsuit. It passed into law in 2019.

The bill was first introduced in 2006.

"It also allowed for an individual who is molested by a family member or a neighbor or something like that to sue them," Egan said.

Egan said she was "one of the fortunate ones."

"There are other survivors who, like me, have gone through multiple attorneys trying to find someone to take their case," Egan said. "And it's unfortunate that most of the larger law firms that advertise on TV say, 'if you've been abused, call us.' They only want the deep pocket institutions."

Egan said most law firms only want to represent victims of the Boy Scouts of America or the Catholic church.

"I was fortunate enough to find Peter and have this case move forward," Egan said. "I'm currently speaking with another woman right now who has tried 10 different attorneys, and she missed her window of opportunity because she could not find an attorney to represent her."

Egan emphasized it makes the process very hard for survivors who already deal with trauma and victimization.

"No one wants to hear you," Egan said. "And the whole point of the Child Victims Act was so that all survivors could come forward."

Egan added that survivors continue to come forward now the window has closed.

"That, for me becomes a bigger issue, because I know a lot of other survivors who want to come forward now," Egan said.

The statute of limitations poses a threat for survivors like Egan, she said.

"We're the ones as survivors that should be protected, not the perpetrators," Egan said.

Initially, victims had a year to file their lawsuits. However, the pandemic delayed that, Scagnelli said, extending it to 2021.

"Here's a person who was sexually abused over a protracted period of time, and sustained as severe psychological injury and was diagnosed with PTSD," Scagnelli said.

Scagnelli added the case was significant, as prosecuting Gordon criminally wasn't an option.

"This was one way of getting a public affirmation or rebuke of his horrific behavior toward her," Scagnelli said.

Scagnelli said, however, that Gordon shelters his assets in Florida, which complicates meeting the ruling.

He added their next step is to find an attorney in Florida who will help them satisfy the judgment.

"I am extremely satisfied and relieved that he has finally been held accountable for his despicable actions," Egan said. "Although I will not see a dime of the judgement awarded, I can rest in knowing that I am validated by the judicial system."

Gordon couldn't be reached for comment before publication.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers man loses $18 million lawsuit in New York child sex crime case