NEWARK (NJ)
NorthJersey.com [Woodland Park NJ]
October 16, 2025
By William Westhoven and Alex Nussbaum
MORRISTOWN — The jury in a groundbreaking sexual assault trial spared the Delbarton School and the Catholic order that oversees it from a potentially devastating punitive damage award on Oct. 16, as the case against the exclusive Morris County prep school came to a close.
After five hours of deliberations over two days, the jury at the Morris County Courthouse decided unanimously against imposing damages beyond the $5 million compensatory award it granted last week to a Delbarton graduate who said he was abused in the 1970s.
The jury ruled in favor of the graduate, who said he has suffered trauma ever since he was assaulted as a 15-year-old by the Rev. Richard Lott, a former Delbarton teacher and maintenance director. His lawyers urged jurors to punish the school and the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey for creating “a culture of abuse and a culture of silence.”
The jurors were not made available for comment after their verdict on Thursday.
On his way out of the courtroom, the victim, identified during the trial only as “T.M.,” smiled and hugged some of the supporters who were a constant presence at the five-week trial, including some who identify as survivors of sexual abuse at Delbarton or other religious institutions.
‘A seismic shift’ for accountability
T.M. later issued a statement that did not comment on the punitive damage decision but focused on his victory in the landmark trial, which he described as “a seismic shift towards institutional accountability.”
Founded in 1939, Delbarton sits on a bucolic 187-acre campus just west of Morristown. The school charges $49,000 in yearly tuition and boasts a roster of prestigious alumni including Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage and the sons of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
The case was a milestone, the first of about three dozen sexual assault lawsuits against Delbarton to reach a jury, though the school has settled others. It’s also believed to be the first case to go to trial among hundreds in New Jersey seeking damages from the Catholic Church for clergy sexual abuse claims.
“No one should have to endure what I have experienced,” T.M., now 65, said in the statement. “My fervent desire is that other survivors will stand upon our result and find the courage to seek justice for themselves. Together, we must demand institutions do more to protect children.”
His attorneys, Rayna Kessler and Michael Geibelson, agreed.
“The evidence presented at trial showed that the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, the operator of the Delbarton School, enabled decades of child sexual abuse and systematically concealed it to guard their reputation,” they wrote in a statement following the trial. “This is the first verdict against Catholic Church-affiliated defendants for sexual abuse in New Jersey, and it sends a clear message: The culture of secrecy is shattered.”
“By holding a powerful institution responsible through this jury trial, this result empowers survivors of sexual abuse to demand their day in court,” the attorneys continued. “T.M.’s courage and perseverance have paved a path to justice for all survivors seeking accountability.”
Survivors’ support network
T.M.’s supporters said they were surprised and disappointed by the decision on punitive damages, which could have been up to five times the size of the compensatory award. But they celebrated T.M. for his “precedent-setting bravery” in pursuing the case, said Robert Hoatson, the president of Road to Recovery, a Livingston-based nonprofit that assists sexual abuse victims and their families.
“This is really the first time an individual has taken his case this far, and won,” said Hoatson, a former priest and abuse victim. “The message is victims now know that they possibly can get some justice for what has happened to them.”
“When I first reported Father Richard Lott’s abuse to Abbot Clarke in 1977, I trusted him to ensure that Lott would be held accountable and that what happened to me would never happen to anyone else,” T.M.’s statement continued, referring to Brian Clarke, the former head of the order. “That trust was betrayed. Despite my warning, many others have come forward to report that the abuse continued.”
Delbarton abuse verdict could prompt reforms — and more lawsuitsFormer Delbarton School student wins $5 million award in historic clergy sex assault trialEx-Delbarton teacher in sex abuse trial says he wasn’t on campus during alleged assaultDelbarton abuse ‘follows me around like a dark cloud,’ alleged victim testifies at trialAs a teen, this former Delbarton student trusted a priest. Then came the alleged sex abuseThese are the clerics from Delbarton School accused of sexually abusing children and young adults
T.M. first filed his lawsuit in 2017. He has been deposed on nine separate occasions in the years leading to the trial.
“My hope is that by pursuing this nearly nine-year climb to justice, I can help others understand the profound and lasting impact of clergy sexual abuse – not just on the victims, but on their families, their communities, and their futures,” he wrote.
Delbarton responds
After the trial concluded, the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey issued its own statement, signed by Abbot Jonathan Licari, the order administrator, and the Delbarton School’s headmaster, the Rev. Michael Tidd.
“We are pleased and grateful that the jury in the punitive damages phase of this trial unanimously found that St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton School are not liable for punitive damages,” the statement read. “The jury’s verdict in this phase of the trial is consistent with what they found earlier in the compensatory portion of the trial: St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton School did not know of the abuse found by the jury, and there was no intentional misconduct nor malice towards the plaintiff by the Abbey or school.”
Lott, the school and the order have denied wrongdoing. On Monday, Tidd testified that a large punitive award on top of the compensatory damages “could put us out of business.”
The OSBNJ statement made no mention of whether the defendants would appeal the compensatory damages. After last week’s verdict, Licari and Tidd said they did not consider the $5 million award “fair or reasonable” and were “considering legal options.”
Attorney Greg Gianforcaro, who represents 31 alleged Delbarton abuse victims and hundreds more accusing other religious institutions around the state, was another daily observer at the landmark trial.
“T.M.’s counsel tried an amazing case. They did not make any mistakes,” he said. “The fact that T.M. had the courage to stick it out, and to say ‘no.’ As a result, the jury recognized that OSBNJ is even more responsible for the abuse than the abuser for his abuse. That speaks volumes.”
Gianforcaro, whose practice specializes in cases of child and clergy sexual abuse, added that they are now “assessing which of the 31 plaintiffs we have will go next. When that will be, we don’t know. But we absolutely have our cases lined up.”
The $5 million compensatory award on its own “should send a powerful message to all institutions that they must take allegations seriously,” Mark Crawford, the New Jersey director for SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said after last week’s verdict.
By William Westhoven and Alex Nussbaum