Nassau jury awards man $30M in sex abuse suit against teacher

A Nassau jury has awarded $30 million in damages to a former county resident who was sexually abused as a child decades ago by his public school teacher in Rockville Centre.

The award Monday to Michael Malvin, 53, is believed to be one of the largest — and among the first — under the New York State Child Victims Act, which allows people to sue their alleged perpetrators no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.

It was also seen by some attorneys as a warning shot to the Roman Catholic Church and other institutions of the kinds of penalties they could face under the act.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre, which declared bankruptcy two years ago because of the lawsuits, has more than 600 CVA cases pending against it.

David Savage, 69, and retired, sexually abused Malvin when he was his fifth-grade teacher at Jennie E. Hewitt Elementary School in Rockville Centre, starting in 1979, according to the lawsuit filed in Nassau County Supreme Court. Malvin was 10 when the sexual abuse began, the lawsuit stated. 

The abuse continued for about four years, often taking place in Savage’s car, according to the lawsuit.

Savage testified during the civil trial and denied the allegations. His attorney, Michael Cibella of Manhattan, did not return messages Tuesday seeking comment. Savage will be solely responsible for financially compensating Malvin. 

Malvin’s attorney called the finding for his client and the financial award a major victory for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and a message for abusers.

The jury “put a sign at the border of Nassau County that says, ‘Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare touch our children that way. Don’t even think about it,’” said attorney Scott Occhiogrosso of Manhattan.

According to the lawsuit, Savage frequently took Malvin in his car to parking lots at locations including Hempstead Lake State Park and Jones Beach,  where he sexually abused him inside the vehicle.

Savage used his classroom as a grooming ground, allowing students to gather there after classes ended for the day and playing games, Occhiogrosso said.

“He’s the fun, young teacher and they think it’s the coolest thing that they can hang out in the room,” Occhiogrosso said. “To parents it seems like a good thing. It seems like this is a teacher who is making an extra effort, spending more time.”

But after the other students left, Malvin would stay behind, in part because Savage made him feel “special,” the San Diego resident's attorney said.

Savage would take him on trips, not only to parks and beaches, but to eat at McDonald’s, play racquetball, or watch the teacher play in a men’s soccer league, Occhiogrosso said.

Savage went on to teach in other school districts including Lynbrook, Elmont, Miller Place and — for 24 years until he retired — Plainedge, said another of Malvin's attorneys, Frederick Aranki.

Malvin said on Tuesday that he felt some relief after the jury ruled in his favor and issued a major financial award.

“Both verdicts were just huge for me,” said Malvin, who was in court Monday. “I had a lot of hurt and anger and all kinds of issues.”

For compensatory damages, the jury awarded Malvin $6 million for past pain and suffering and $4 million for future pain and suffering. It also awarded him $20 million in punitive damages.

The Rockville Centre school district was also named in the lawsuit, but Malvin's attorneys declined to comment on the outcome of the allegations against them. The school district did not respond to a request for comment.

Malvin said he hopes to use the money to help other childhood sexual abuse survivors.

Some attorneys said the large award could carry implications for many other institutions.

“People have now begun to appreciate the magnitude of harm done when there is trauma and betrayal by authority figures. And that translates into large settlements. That translates into even larger verdicts,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney who is handling scores of CVA cases against the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

He said expects the diocese to face liabilities easily exceeding $1 billion.

The CVA went into effect in August 2019, and the one-year “window” for people to file lawsuits was extended for another year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The law was aimed at giving victims some chance of redress since most of the cases cannot be pursued in criminal court due to the statute of limitations.