Jury awards $2 million to Jan Crouch's granddaughter in lawsuit over allegations of rape cover-up

The granddaughter of the late Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) co-founder Jan Crouch has been awarded $2 million after an Orange County jury found that her grandmother acted outrageously for failing to report the sexual assault committed by an employee when she was just 13-years-old.

In 2012, Carra Crouch filed a personal-injury lawsuit against Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, the non-profit that runs TBN, saying her grandmother yelled at her and berated her when she informed her that she was sexually assaulted by a TBN employee at a Praise-A-Thon fundraiser in Atlanta in 2006. She claimed that the employee was fired, but Jan did not report the incident to the police.

Carra, who is now 24, stated in her lawsuit that the incident caused her years of trauma and emotional distress.

On Monday, the jury awarded her $1 million for past emotional damage, and another $1 million for future pain and suffering.

According to The Orange County Register, the Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana was ordered to pay $900,000 because Jan was found 45 percent liable for Carra's emotional distress.

Carra's mother was assigned 35 percent, but she is not required to pay because she was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The unnamed rapist, who also was not a defendant and was never arrested, was assigned with the remaining 20 percent.

While Carra initially sought $6 million, her attorney, David Keesling, stated that the jury's decision sends a strong message on how churches should handle reports of sexual assault.

"From now on, they're going to have to go out there and explain to people why a Christian ministry would conduct themselves this way," he said, noting that the money awarded to Carra will pay for her past and future therapy and other expenses.

"This was more than just devastating, it was a life-shaping event that affected her and still does affect her," he added.

Under California's mandatory reporting law, Jan, as an ordained minister, was legally required to report the incident of sexual assault. However, Keesling said that Jan never called the police because she was concerned about the "bad press."

The jurors found that Jan acted recklessly in failing to report the assault, but they rejected the allegation that she failed in her duty as a mandated reporter.

Trinity attorney Michael King said that the organization is planning to appeal the case. He contended that the jurors' findings on the mandated reporter issue absolved the Trinity Christian Center of the allegations of a cover-up.

"We are disappointed that Jan Crouch has been held partially liable in the jury's verdict but are pleased that TBN has been fully exonerated," TBN said in a statement. "We're weighing our options and will move forward under our new leadership," it added.