In 2012, Hope Cheston was raped at the age of 14 by a security guard called Brandon Lamar Zachary who was 22.
Zachary had been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to jail for 20 years. The security company that had hired Zachary had, however, never apologized to Cheston, or even contacted her.
In a lawsuit filed against the security company, Crime Prevention Agency, jurors have awarded Cheston an unbelievable sum of $1 billion.
Cheston, who is now 20, said the jurors had hugged her afterward and told her, “You’re worth something.”
“It was a shocking moment; it was a beautiful moment,” she said, “It showed human kindness in its purest form.”
Cheston’s attorney, Chris Stewart, said he doesn’t expect his client to receive the $1 billion in full.
He said:
What that number stands for is the most important thing.
We don’t care what we end up finally recovering from this company. We know they don’t have $1 billion. But it’s what 12 people in the state of Georgia said a victim of rape is worth that echoes louder.
We already got our victory.
