One of the more interesting and rewarding aspects of our practice is the representation of victims of crime, people who have been abuse by others and suffered injury and loss as a result. There are many types of victims: victims of abusive police or government officials; victims of fraudsters who seek to gain the trust of their victims so they can steal from them; victims of sexual assault or abuse; and victims of human trafficking, whether it be labor trafficking, sex trafficking or sexual assault. One thing these victims have in common is that they suffer in the feeling of devastating loss. As a law firm, we are committed to holding the perpetrators of abuse accountable and recovering as much of the loss as possible for the people who have suffered.
We understand that the perpetrators’ actions can be devastating. We are not prosecutors and cannot put people in prison, although we do work with prosecutors when required. Our focus is on the recovery of financial compensation to help provide financial support as the person who has experienced physical and psychological harm recovers from that loss or, where a person has experienced financial loss, to help them recover that loss. In those cases where a person has lost their life, we can still help to hold the perpetrator responsible and recover financial resources for the surviving family members.
It Is Not Always Easy.
It is not always easy to recover one’s loss from criminal activity, and sometimes it is not possible. Most, but not all, criminal actors are poor. When the police arrests these individuals, they usually do not have the ability to pay a judgment, and most people assume that there is nothing more to be done. The criminal heads to prison, and the matter is closed. Except for the person who suffered the loss at the hands of the criminal—for him or her, it is not done, and the matter should not be considered closed. There is oftentimes an opportunity to collect.
For starters, sometimes perpetrators do have financial resources. Many people who molest children do have financial resources, even after a criminal conviction, and pursuing these individuals can result in financial recoveries for their victim(s). Child molesters are not always from the lowest levels of society—we have seen corporate executives, professionals (doctors and lawyers), people from every walk of life—involved in this reprehensible conduct. The case of Jeffrey Epstein is instructive. In this case an incredibly wealthy perpetrator sexually assaulted dozens of minor girls.[1]
[1] The Jeffrey Epstein cases also show how the rich and powerful can manipulate the justice system. In 2005, Epstein was found by Palm Beach police to have molested 36 girls, some of whom were as young as 14 years old. Ultimately, he pled to a single count of procuring a child for prostitution and solicitation. He received a 13-month sentence but was largely spared the rigors of prison life.
Even where perpetrators do not have substantial resources, there may be responsible parties that should have stopped the abuse but didn’t—these parties may be responsible for substantial awards. In Epstein’s case, a couple of banks alleged to have assisted Epstein in the commission of his crimes have paid millions of dollars. More recently, a jury in New Mexico awarded $480 million against a private foster care agency for covering the repeated sexual abuse of one of its foster parents for a single victim. Just because it was a crime perpetrated by one individual doesn’t mean there are no other responsible parties.
Some of the more significant recoveries have come from the Catholic Church and other churches, private schools and universities, the Boy Scouts, etc. If the abuse is committed by a member of an organization, the organization may be responsible for the abuse. This is true not only of organizations where sexual abuse or assaults have occurred but also of financial institutions or brokerage firms where their employees have committed fraud or other financial crimes.
There are also times when other organizations—stores, resorts, apartment complexes, hotels, etc.—have been negligent in either ignoring or failing to take adequate precautions to protect visitors, guests or residents.
All of these potentially liable individuals and entities, however, have significant defenses they may raise, and it is important to have the right lawyer who understands the law and has the ability to investigate cases adequately.
Special Issues when the Government is Involved.
Suits against government entities can be particularly difficult. Every year, citizens are killed or seriously injured by police officers; however, a suit against a police officer can be difficult. In many places, police officers have significant immunity protections as a matter of state law, and, regardless of the injuries or damages, there may be substantial barriers to recovery. Even if suit is permitted, the recovery may be “capped” by state statute at a level substantially below the value of the injury.
There are federal statutes, such as 42 U.S.C. 1983 which permit citizens to recover civilly for violations of their civil rights. That statute is straightforward:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.
While the statute itself appears fairly direct, the Supreme Court has created the doctrine of “qualified immunity” to shield police officers from constitutional violations in some cases.[2] It is therefore important to consider the statute, the qualified immunity doctrine, and state law when taking legal action against police officers.
[2] Although the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1871, the Supreme Court case establishing Qualified Immunity was not decided until more than a hundred years after the Statute was passed. See Harlow v, Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982).
Some of the most surprising and saddest cases in American jurisprudence involve the abuse of children. A student’s rights to a free education—free from sexual abuse or harassment, are guaranteed, at least theoretically, by Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., 142 S.Ct. 1562, 1576 (2022), the Supreme Court decided that students who are the victims of sexual abuse may not recover for “emotional” damages, which, unfortunately, are the most significant damages a minor who had been raped in school may suffer. There may be ways around this case, but it does show that significant hurdles can be thrown in front of a student seeking to recover.
Many crimes are perpetrated by government actors and permitted to occur by government entities. It is possible to recover damages in many instances, but these cases are almost always difficult cases.
Special Injuries Suffered by Victims of Crime.
Victims of crime suffer significant psychological injuries—in addition to sometimes severe physical injuries—that can significantly alter personalities and change behaviors. A fifteen-year-old girl who has been kidnapped, beaten and raped, forced into prostitution, and then given narcotics to “make it through” is not likely to return to her high school class unscathed. She may have been a straight “A” student before with a bright future. When she returns, however, she may be battling a drug habit. School work may no longer seem appropriate. Students and teachers who knew her before will have trouble relating to her. Appropriate treatment may last for years.
In representing a victim, it is important for an attorney to not lose sight of the child. The parents may be the clients or at least making decisions for the child, but the needs of the child must always be kept at the forefront. This requires a “trauma informed” approach to the relationship of the child. As trained lawyers, we learn about “the reasonable person under the circumstances” standard and expect people to behave as reasonable people under the circumstances might behave. Few people are reasonable, however, and the greater the trauma suffered by a victim, the more difficult it becomes for that person to return to a normal life.
Of course, adults are also traumatized by the criminal actions of others. An elderly widow or widower who loses his or her life savings suffers not only a financial catastrophe but also loses, in many cases, a piece of themselves. The loss may cause them to fear that their children may no longer feel they can live alone—they may fear losing their independence. Oftentimes, elderly victims may try to hide the loss because they fear that exposure of the loss is embarrassing. The stress associated with this loss often leads to increased stress and even death.[3]
[3] Fraudsters are persuasive people who prey on the vulnerabilities of anyone with whom they come in contact. A fraud loss is therefore not evidence of incapacity, but rather, a malicious crime that focuses upon the vulnerability of the victim. It is important when talking to people who have lost money to remember that the loss is solely the fraudster’s fault, and blaming the victim is always the wrong thing to do. It should also be remembered that financial institutions maintain complex anti-fraud and anti-money laundering policies, and fraudsters often circumvent these sophisticated policies.
We understand the significant traumas suffered by victims of crime, and we know that the resolution of the case is about more than money. Perpetrators must be held accountable, and those they injure must receive adequate compensation to allow them to heal and to move on with their lives. These are the goals we seek whenever we represent anyone who has been victimized by crimes.
If you or someone you know has been victimized by the criminal acts of another, please give us a call. We are here, and we want to help.

Dennis Boyle
Founder / Partner
Mr. Dennis Boyle is an accomplished white-collar criminal defense and complex civil litigation attorney who practices throughout the United States and internationally.