The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Prosecutors and the defense for suspect Bryan Kohberger, 30, have clashed in court filings over what should be admissible, sharing new information that has filled in some gaps since the killings in late 2022 stunned the college town of Moscow. A sweeping gag order in the wake of the students’ deaths has prevented many attached to the case from speaking publicly.

Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing housemates Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; and Xana Kernodle, 20; as well as Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, with a large fixed-blade knife at an off-campus home on Nov. 13, 2022.

Latah County prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. In recent days, the state has also added another member to its team: Josh Hurwit, the U.S. attorney for the District of Idaho under former President Joe Biden.

Among the revelations in recent weeks is that Kohberger has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. His lawyers wrote that his autism has “significant impact on his daily life,” and that jurors may unfairly scrutinize his reactions in court as he maintains a “flat affect” and “does not show emotion on his face,” among other attributes.

“Due to his ASD, Mr. Kohberger simply cannot comport himself in a manner that aligns with societal expectations of normalcy,” his legal team argued in calling for the death penalty to be stricken as a sentencing option. “This creates an unconscionable risk that he will be executed because of his disability rather than his culpability.”

Prosecutors responded in a filing that Kohberger was shown to be diagnosed with the least severe form of autism that comes “without accompanying intellectual or language impairment,” and that he has failed to show his diagnosis “would in any way make him less culpable for murder.”

Experts have said challenging the death penalty can be difficult in Idaho, where the law does not allow defendants to mount an insanity defense in criminal cases.

But defendants in other high-profile trials have been successful in getting the death penalty dismissed, including “doomsday mom” Lori Vallow, who was convicted in 2023 in the deaths of her two children and her husband’s first wife. A judge removed the death penalty in her case due to late disclosure of evidence by state prosecutors.

Idaho has not executed anyone since 2012, but legislators legalized death by firing squad as an option in 2023 amid a shortage of lethal injection drugs.

Both prosecutors and the defense are also expected to spar over descriptions of Kohberger that they want avoided at trial.

Prosecutors intend to show a smiling selfie of Kohberger, which they say was taken roughly six hours after the students were killed, in order to help jurors determine whether the suspect has “bushy eyebrows.”

That facial feature was provided to police by one of two housemates who survived the night of the killings and said she saw a masked intruder dressed in black walking past her.

But Kohberger’s defense team is seeking to exclude any evidence referring to “bushy eyebrows,” arguing it would be “unfairly prejudicial” to jurors.

The defense also doesn’t want the state to refer to Kohberger as a “psychopath” or “sociopath,” or use the term “murderer” or other variations of that word.

In turn, prosecutors want Ada County Judge Steven Hippler to prohibit the defense from presenting testimony on the neurological and psychiatric evaluation of Kohberger; bar the defense from providing alibi evidence that isn’t given directly by Kohberger; and disallow the defense from offering “alternative perpetrator” evidence or argument without first proving that it is relevant.

Another key element at trial may be text messages the surviving roommates sent to one another prior to calling 911. That call wasn’t made until eight hours after the killings. The texts highlight a chaotic early morning in which the two roommates tried unsuccessfully to call the others who were on separate floors of the home.

“I’m so freaked out,” one of them wrote.

The defense said in a filing that the messages the prosecution wants to include are selective, and that the surviving roommates were also on social media and “were not asleep for 8 hours,” according to phone records.

The defense had previously said in court filings that there is “no connection” between Kohberger and the students, and that other men’s DNA was also found at the scene.

How DNA evidence may be used at trial could also emerge at Wednesday’s hearing. Authorities say DNA was found on a knife sheath at the crime scene and is a statistical match to Kohberger’s.

In a court filing, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson wrote that a defense expert’s disclosure revealed that Kohberger’s lawyers won’t challenge that the DNA found on the sheath belongs to the suspect. Instead, Thompson wrote, “the defense plans to argue the DNA on the knife sheath does not prove Defendant was ever at the crime scene and the knife sheath itself could have been planted by the real perpetrator.”

Prosecutors said in recent court documents that Kohberger purchased a Ka-Bar knife from Amazon eight months prior to the murders, and it was that same type of knife sheath found on the bed next to Mogen’s body. The murder weapon had not been recovered, Moscow police have said.

Other motions surrounding Kohberger’s online purchases, the apparent capturing of his car on surveillance videos and the prosecution’s planned use of a 3-D model of the victims’ home may also be discussed Wednesday. The hearing could also continue into Thursday.

Shanshan Dong reported from Boise and Erik Ortiz from New York.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.  More from NBC News:

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Last November, Lopez pleaded guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter for selling counterfeit Percocet found to be laced with deadly amounts of fentanyl. Aiden Vining, who was 17, was found unresponsive in his family’s Chevy Chase home in October of 2023.

“This is a grown man who sold drugs to my underage child,” said Alexis Vining, Aiden Vining’s mother.

She said she can’t stop thinking how Lopez’s sentence — five years in prison and five on probation — is much less than the ones likely facing the men charged with first degree murder in the death of a good friend of hers who was killed just a month before she lost her son.

Blake Bozeman, a former Morgan State basketball star, a local realtor and father, was murdered in September 2023 when he walked into the path of two men as they began firing into a crowded lounge on H Street Northeast in D.C.

“The weapon involved for my son was fentanyl, the weapon involved for Blake was a gun,” Alexis Vining said. “There’s a weapon in each instance, one just happens to be a drug and the other one is a gun, so why is there five years for my son and 20 years for Blake”

Assistant State’s Attorneys Jennifer Harrison and Kimberly Cissel with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Overdose Prosecution Unit worked to secure Lopez’s Conviction.

State’s Attorney John McCarthy says he understands Alexis Vining’s concerns and has thought about them himself.

“I’m also hoping that somebody in the legislature will listen to us and understand that distribution of fentanyl resulting in death should be its own crime.”

One friend who spoke on behalf of Aiden Vining says his loss, this tragedy, has inspired her to pursue studies to become a doctor.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

That’s how Maryland mother Ondraya Graves says she felt after she learned the man accused of killing her daughter was being offered a plea deal.

“I actually was at work when they called and so my heart dropped and was very sad… it just made me feel alone…” Graves said. “Essentially he would get away with murder…”

Back in November, her daughter, Olivia Graves, was gunned down on Atlantic Avenue Southeast.

Family members say the 24-year-old had gotten a ride from friends to pick her nephew up from school. They decided to stop on their way home and found themselves in the middle of a deadly dispute.

“Really just trying to protect her nephew and she took the bullet for him…” Graves said. “She was a protector. She sacrificed, and she made sure that if there was a need, she was the one who was trying to. She’s a problem solver, so she would try to do whatever she needed to do, even if it meant she sacrificed something of herself.”

Days after the fatal shooting, Maurice Jackson was arrested for second degree murder, but last Friday he accepted a plea for voluntary manslaughter.

“The possibility of an early release, that is very scary to me. I believe that he has demonstrated throughout his life that he is a threat to the community…” Graves said. “Whatever the full extent of the law is for punishment for second degree murder, is what, that’s the only thing that would be satisfying.”

Graves says now she worries their family won’t get justice.

Her grandson, who was 12 at the time and witnessed the shooting, is still struggling.

“Daily trauma, you know, he doesn’t even sleep alone anymore,” she said.

Graves says she is grateful for the support and communication from the U.S. Attorney’s Office — she just wants to make sure her daughter’s accused killer gets the appropriate punishment.

Jackson’s sentencing is scheduled for July. As she waits to learn his fate, she has this message for other families who lost loved ones and are navigating the justice system:

“Stay involved, get involved, let your voice be heard and speak, be that voice for… your friend or family who is a victim in D.C.”

Now, investigators in Charles County, Maryland, are setting the record straight about the intense search for a young mother who has not been seen since the end of March.

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office says they suspect foul play in the disappearance of Lesbia Mileth Ramirez Guerra.

They now believe the 23-year-old mother of two young children may have been missing for a few days before her disappearance was reported to police on April 2.

It’s a critical time period.

Investigators want to talk to anyone who during that time saw this vehicle: a red Toyota 4Runner with a “Baby on Board” decal. They’ll only say it’s a family vehicle.

“If they saw this vehicle anywhere in a remote area, someplace isolated, anything like that … give us a call,” said Diane Richardson with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. “Check your Ring cameras. Check any footage you have. If you’re a hunter and you have cameras out there, check those.

Guerra was last physically seen the evening of March 31 at the Waldorf home where she lives with several people, including her boyfriend, who is the father of her children.

Her family is distraught. Some of Guerra’s relatives came down from Pennsylvania to help search for her.

The press release on her disappearance notes that while serving a search warrant on her residence, detectives located what turned out to be fraudulent identity documents belonging to her boyfriend. When they contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement to verify his identity, agents responded and took him into custody.

Surveillance video shows three people involved in a fight and police moving in to break it up.

In the same area in March, police were called to a restaurant for a fight. Three people were arrested.

Across the street in late February, Bar Bao closed early because of a large, unruly crowd and fight.

Arlington police have had special patrols in the nightlife area on Friday and Saturday nights for a decade. But in 2023, they added Sunday nights, too.

The goal is to spot trouble before it happens act quickly when it does.

“We want to be engaging with patrons early,” Arlington police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said. “We want to step in and see those pre-fight indicators — maybe people in a verbal dispute, maybe they’re balling up their fists, they’re showing their getting ready into that. “But also, if we’re seeing fights, that we’re actively breaking it up. I think from the video this weekend, you see how quickly officers responded to that incident.”

The police department also helps run what’s known as the Arlington Restaurant Initiative, which provides training to restaurant and bar staff.

“From our officers, we’re doing de-escalation training, as well as when to notify officers,” Savage said. “Again, we’re there. We’re in the area. So, if they’re see an incident that’s rising, they want to notify those officers.”

Arlington’s county manager proposed a budget that would provide increased funding for police overtime to staff the Clarendon nightlife detail — $321,000 is included in the plan the county board will vote on this week.

Get the D.C. area’s top news and weather delivered to your inbox every morning. Sign up for First & 4Most, our free newsletter.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The victims are all in stable condition, and their injuries are considered non-life-threatening, according to police.

Police said good Samaritans from the community chased and subdued Andrade before he was taken into custody.

“He poked me in my head, in my hip and cut me in my back,” said Edward Thomas, a good Samaritan and one of the victims.

Thomas broke down the injuries he sustained, along with fresh bandages, after confronting what police described as a man armed with a knife.

“When he knocked the women down I knew something was wrong, and I said “now do I react?’do i flight? I ain’t going to take flight, I’m going to help them so I took it upon myself to try to help them,” he said.

Police said the suspect, Kevin Andrade, was under the influence of an unknown substance before allegedly attacking several strangers in the area.

“While walking down the street, the individual began stabbing himself, and then he stabbed a female acquaintance who was also with him,” said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith

According to court documents, that female acquaintance was Andrade’s ex-girlfriend, who told police she heard the suspect say, “If I can’t have you, no one can.”

Andrade then turned the knife on himself before police say he attacked a group of women, including a grandmother.

“The grandmother and her granddaughters were getting in a car, primarily minding their own business,”

Court documents say one of the victims told police that before attacking them, they heard Andrade say, “Everybody getting stabbed today.”

Investigators showed News4 an image of the bloody knife that was recovered after the attack.

Andrade now faces multiple charges, including assault with intent to kill and destruction of property.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Kevin Steve Andrade, 34, was walking with a woman along Meigs Place in the Trinidad neighborhood when he suddenly started stabbing himself and her, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

“The suspect was in an altered mental state from an unknown substance,” D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said Thursday.

Then Andrade randomly stabbed other women on the street, including a grandmother getting into a car with her grandchildren, police said.

“The grandmother and her granddaughters were getting in a car, primarily minding their own business,” Smith said.

Andrade ran northbound on Montello Avenue NE, where he attacked a sixth person, police said.

Good Samirtans then chased him and were able to subdue him near the intersection of Montello Avenue and Mt. Olivet Road.

Officers who were in the area then took Andrade into custody.

Four women and two men were taken to hospitals. They were stable, police said Thursday evening.

Police said Thursday evening Andrade had surgery for serious injuries that were not life-threatening.

He was charged with six counts of assault with intent to kill.

Police said they recovered a bloody knife a few feet away from Andrade.

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London’s Metropolitan Police force said Brand, 50, faces one count of rape, one of indecent assault, one of oral rape and two of sexual assault.

The alleged offenses took place between 1999 and 2005.

In September 2023, British media outlets Channel 4 and the Sunday Times published claims by four women of being sexually assaulted or raped by Brand. The accusers have not been identified.

The comedian, author and “Get Him To The Greek” actor has denied the allegations, saying his relationships were “always consensual.”

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Known for his unbridled and risqué stand-up routines, Brand hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.

In recent years, Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories. He recently said he had moved to the United States.

Police said Brand is due to appear in a London court on May 2.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The Second Look Act would allow younger offenders who have served at least 20 years in prison to ask to judge to release them.

The bill has sparked heated debate in Annapolis.

“Second Look is not a get-out-of-jail free card. It is an assessment of the merit of the petition,” one person said in testimony.

“To me, it’s just insane. Where’s my second chance,” another said.

Deborah Haskins has had two family members die in violent attacks and is a volunteer with a coalition formed to fight for the legislation. She said she believes in redemption.

“I do believe that everybody has the capability to become a better person, even when they end up in places like prison,” she said.

The Second Look Act applies to inmates who committed crimes when they were 18 to 25 and have served at least 20 years. They cannot have received a sentence of life without parole or have been sex offenders. Anyone who killed a first responder in the line of duty also would be ineligible.

Gale Seaton, whose daughter Stacey was murdered in Prince George’s County almost 20 years ago, is among the victims’ rights advocates who oppose the act.

“Anybody who is behind bars, incarcerated, especially for murder, has a lot of time on their hands to think, what can I do to get out?” she said.

Supporters of the bill point to the racial disparity in Maryland prisons.

African Americans make up 29% of the state population but account for 72% of the prison population, state statistics show.

“Because of the high number of African-Americans in particular who have been mass-incarcerated, many of these folks also were born into circumstances they didn’t ask for – poverty, trauma, et cetera,” Haskins said.

The bill cleared a key Senate vote Wednesday, with one amendment passing. It will return to the House for a vote because of that amendment, with just days left in the session.

Seaton is hoping it won’t pass.

“The families such as ourselves, we have to live with it. When do we get parole? When do we get a second chance?” she asked.

To earn their release, inmates would have to prove they’re no longer a danger to the community, show they’ve completed education and vocational programs, and demonstrate they have been rehabilitated.

Lawmakers say about 350 inmates could ask for release if the act passes.

The Sentencing Project says D.C., 13 states and the federal government have passed second-look reforms.

The suspect was under the influence of something at about 3:30 p.m. when he stabbed himself and a woman with whom he was walking along Montello Avenue near Raum Street in D.C.’s Trinidad neighborhood, police said.

“The suspect was in an altered mental state from an unknown substance,” D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said. “While walking down the street, the individual began stabbing himself, and then he stabbed a female acquaintance who was also with him.”

Then he randomly stabbed other women on the street, including a grandmother getting into a car with her grandchildren, police said.

“The grandmother and her granddaughters were getting in a car, primarily minding their own business,” Smith said.

Two good Samaritans attempting to intervene also were stabbed.

Four women and two men were taken to hospitals. They are in stable condition.

Police took the suspect into custody. He was in surgery Thursday evening.

Police said they recovered a bloody knife a few feet away from the suspect.

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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said the Juvenile Investigative Response Unit, or JIRU, will focus on responding to and preventing crimes that involve young people.

“Recently, we have seen an increase in fights in our schools and more serious criminal offenses outside
of our schools,” Smith said at a news conference. “And we have seen an increase in juvenile suspects involved in criminal offenses District-wide.”

The number of juveniles arrested in D.C. has gone up each year since 2020. More than 2,000 were arrested in 2023 and 2024.

Juveniles also accounted for 51.8%, of all robbery arrests in 2024, according to the police department. About 60% of all carjacking arrests made to date in 2025 are juveniles, police said.

Nearly 200 juveniles arrested in 2024 for violent crimes had prior violent crime arrests.

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Expanding outreach to young people who are repeat offenders is a main mission of the unit, Smith said.

“I see the same kids over and over again. And so that’s what’s driving this for me. It’s the same group. It’s not a large number,” Smith said.

“This unit is designed to respond to youth-involved crime more effectively and stop crime before it happens,” Bowser said.

JIRU will use data-driven analysis to identify crime trends among young people and intervene before conflicts escalate into violence, authorities said.

Police plan to investigate crimes involving juveniles regardless of where the crime happens, similar to the carjacking unite the department created a few years ago. Carjackings are down 50% this year compared to 2024.

“Some folks say to me that, you know, we can’t arrest our way out of this. And I agree. But we will hold those young people accountable that are committing serious crimes across our city,” Smith said.

Investigators will also work closely with D.C. Public Schools, the Child and Family Services Agency, the departments for behavioral health and human services, the youth rehabilitation department and more city agencies to have a “whole-government approach.”

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Nicholas John Roske, of Simi Valley, California, was arrested near Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, in June 2022. Roske was armed with a gun and a knife, was carrying zip ties and was dressed in black when he arrived in the neighborhood by taxi just after 1 a.m., federal authorities said.

Roske, who was 26 when he was arrested, intends to plead guilty to attempting to murder a justice of the United States without reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, according to his lawyers. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Roske’s attorneys asked a judge in Greenbelt, Maryland, to schedule a hearing next Monday or Tuesday for him to enter a guilty plea. They say prosecutors have consented to their request.

After his arrest, Roske told a police detective that he was upset by a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court intended to overrule Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion case, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. Killing one jurist could change the decisions of the nine-member court “for decades to come,” authorities said that Roske wrote, adding, “I am shooting for three.”

The leaked opinion draft led to protests, including at several of the justices’ homes. Roske’s arrest spurred the House to approve a bill expanding around-the-clock security protection to the justices’ families.

Roske also said he was upset over the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, and believed that Kavanaugh would vote to loosen gun control laws, the affidavit said.

Roske was apprehended after he called 911 and told a police dispatcher that he was near Kavanaugh’s home and wanted to take his own life. He was spotted by two U.S. marshals who were part of 24-hour security provided to the justices.

A trial for Roske was scheduled to start June 9.

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During a hearing in October 2022, U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte said there was a “very high likelihood” that he would order a mental evaluation for Roske to determine if he was fit to assist his defense, enter a possible guilty plea or stand trial.

One of Roske’s attorneys, Andrew Szekely, said during a hearing last August that the defense is not requesting a court-ordered mental evaluation of Roske.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman inherited Roske’s case after Messitte died in January following a brief illness.

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The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Just before 10 p.m. Thursday a woman returned to her home in Linden and found 29-year-old Brandon Probst with traumatic injuries, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office said. The woman didn’t know Probst.

Probst, of Stuarts Draft, Virginia, died a short time later, authorities said.

The investigation led detectives to Augusta County, where detectives identified 27-year-old Jose Valasquez-Martinez, of Verona, Virginia, as a suspect in Probst’s death.

News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.

Officers arrested Valasquez-Martinez on Sunday at a hotel in Front Royal and charged him with murder and malicious wounding.

News4’s Julie Carey is gathering more information about this story. Stay with News4 for developments.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Spencer Dillon Hamilton, 27, walked into the Rockville City Police station just after 8 p.m. and told officers he killed his grandmother, Pauline Yvonne Titus-Dillon, at her home, according to Montgomery County charging documents.

Officers then went to the home in the 12600 block of Tribunal Lane and found Titus-Dillon with traumatic injuries and pronounced her dead at the scene, police said.

Hamilton told police he was “lying in wait” in his grandmother’s bedroom closet before killing her between 4 to 4:30 Sunday morning, according to charging documents. He confessed to stabbing, strangling and punching her, police wrote in the documents.

He said he then moved Titus-Dillon’s body and tried to clean up the crime scene, the charging documents said. Before leaving the home, he took her credit card, cellphone and laptop, according to police.

Police said in the charging documents Hamilton had those belongings and the weapon they believe he used to stab his grandmother when they took him into custody.

Hamilton was charged with first-degree murder.

Hamilton told a judge he wanted to represent himself while appearing in court via closed circuit television Monday.

After conferring with a public defender, the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Hamilton and told him he would be back in court in a week.

A source with knowledge of the case confirmed to News4 that Titus-Dillon was a physician who once practiced at Howard University Hospital.

Neighbors called her a “beautiful soul” and a “lovely lady.”

Police haven’t given any information on a potential motive in the killing.

A medical examiner in Baltimore will do an autopsy to find the exact cause and manner of the victim’s death, police said.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Investigators say Esmeralda Montoya died after she was struck by a driver who was trying to get away from police.

Loved ones say the 33 year old mother of two was on her way home and waiting for a bus when she was hit.

“She had her whole life ahead of her,” said Rosemary Ascencio, a friend of Montoya’s. “A daughter is gone, a mother is gone, a friend is gone…”

Exactly one month after Montoya’s death, Ascencio — her good friend and softball teammate — fought tears and demanded justice.

“I think that’s probably what hurts the most,” said Ascencio. “That you walk out of your house and you expect to come back home, or you run an errand or go to the grocery store, you know, you expect to… you say bye to people all the time, you say ‘oh, I’ll see her kids tomorrow, see her family…'”

Montoya died on Feb. 28.

According to loved ones, the 33-year-old was waiting for a bus on East-West Highway near 23rd Ave. when she was hit by a car. Investigators say the driver was trying to get away from police when he struck the mother of two.

“She was a friend to everyone, extremely loyal and one who was always willing to help,” Ascencio said. “She always thought about living, always wanting to get ahead, always wanting what was best for her daughters.”

Earlier this week, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office Independent Investigation Division released dashcam video of the traffic stop that lead to Montoya’s death.

In the video, the Lincoln can be seen speeding off just after 10 p.m. Moments later, the video captures the fatal impact.

Officer Carlos Flores’ bodycam captured the dramatic moments after the deadly crash.

Hyattsville police say Warren Leonard was behind the wheel. The 23-year-old had an outstanding warrant for second-degree rape, and officers say they found a gun with an extended clip in the car.

Leonard was taken into custody on a weapons charge.

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“I don’t think that there is a way to forgive something like this,” Ascencio said.

The full five minute video is too difficult for Ascencio to watch. She says, in the four weeks since the crash, loved ones haven’t heard anything about Leonard facing charges for Montoya’s death.

“We want justice and we demand it,” Ascencio said.

Montoya leaves behind a husband and two daughters, 16 and 8 years old. She also leaves behind her family in El Salvador, who she supported, and a devastated softball community.

“This person knew what they were doing and made poor decisions in life, and those poor decisions came to impact our community [and] her family,” Ascencio said.

While they continue their push for justice, Montoya’s teammates say the upcoming season, which starts in April, will make for a difficult next few weeks.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Virginia is one of two states where rapists can still make such claims.

A sexual assault survivor worked for years to get the measure approved after she was raped by an abusive partner and decided to have the baby.

“I never for one second thought I would be forced to co-parenting with him,” she told News4. “That never even crossed my mind.”

But in Fairfax County court, her former partner petitioned to share custody. After years of court battles, his request was approved.

The survivor said it’s been traumatizing.

“The court system is, you know, they were not willing to take into consideration how the child was conceived,” she said. “It’s just that a child was conceived.”

One in every 42 women reports becoming pregnant as a result of rape, according to the Rape, Assault and Incest National Network (RAINN). An estimated one in three of them decide to have the baby.

In her anguish, the survivor said she connected with several sex assault support groups – including RAINN – and discovered through research Virginia was one of only two states that didn’t give sex assault survivors a way to block their rapist from their child’s life.

State Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax County, sponsored a measure to change that.

“It’s heartbreaking to know that there is someone who is living through this ongoing torture of having to co-parent with the man who raped her,” she said.

The bill just signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R, will allow rape victims who decide to have the child to seek court action to keep the rapist from ever claiming parental rights.

“As soon as her child is born, she would have the opportunity to petition the court, but I think also knowing that if a claim for paternity ever came forward, that would also give her a legal remedy to stop it,” Delaney said.

The new law does not require the survivor’s rapist be criminally convicted, but it does set a high standard for what must be shown in court.

“The mother has to show by clear and convincing evidence that the child was conceived of rape, and if that’s the case, there’s no pre-existing relationship, parental rights are not established in the first place,” said Mollie Montague of RAINN. “The bill stops the problem before it starts.”

Although it’s unlikely the sex assault survivor who spoke with News4 will be able  to take advantage of the new law, she’s gratified with the result of her efforts.

“It was incredible,” she said. “And I don’t want to get too emotional, but it felt like justice to be able to give my family possible options and other women and children options.”

She said she’ll continue to speak to sex assault survivor groups to make sure other mothers know there is a new path available for them. 

If you or someone you know needs help, call RAINN at 1-800-656-4673.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Get the D.C. area’s top news and weather delivered to your inbox every morning. Sign up for First & 4Most, our free newsletter.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

Metro’s board of directors voted Thursday to ban riders who assault Metro workers, contractors or other customers. The policy also applies to sex crimes.

The ban isn’t permanent, Metro said. Riders who commit such crimes will be banned for 45 days for their first offense, 90 days for their second offense and a year for their third offense, Metro said.

The new policy will take effect on June 2.

Until now, Metro itself has not banned riders who commit violent crimes.

Courts are able to ban riders, but court orders often only last a few weeks and only prohibit access to the specific bus line or train station where the crime is committed, according to WMATA.

“We need a tool beyond the tools we have today. I personally have run into people on the system, I get e-mails from women who have been victimized. It’s just a horrible experience, and it’s preventable if we can keep people off the system,” WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said during a February board meeting.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

They said violence is on the rise in Eckington, and now they’re organizing and calling on District leaders to step up.

“terrifying, it’s terrifying because you don’t realize how close they are…” said one neighbor. “I mean, our children could have gotten shot…”

Two people were arrested and one weapon recovered after dozens of shots were fired feet from a crowded park Friday evening.

“We actually weren’t sure if it was like fireworks or gunshots, but then quickly we realized, no this is gunshots,” the neighbor said. “It sounded extremely close.

The neighbor, a mother of two, asked News4 to not show her face, but she had no problem describing the panic as parents and children ducked for cover just after 6 p.m.

“I think in total there were 30 gunshots, so as soon as it started as soon as we realized, my husband grabbed my three-year-old, I grabbed my one-year-old, and we hid behind that tree right over there…”

Neighbors in Eckington said the shooting Friday is just the latest violent incident to occur along S Street.

“A good friend of mine, a neighbor, she woke up in the middle of the night to gunshots, and when they checked in the morning there were bullet holes in the side of her brick house,” said neighbor Adrianne Eby.

Eby has lived in the area for about two years. She said the uptick in violence over the last few months is motivating parents in the area to push for change.

Residents organized a WhatsApp group chat with nearly 60 neighbors to share their concerns, updates on crime in the area and ways to engage local leaders to bring more resources to Eckington.

“It just doesn’t need to be a kid for people to put resources and attention to it,” Ebay said.

Their proactive approach is gaining attention. Eby said one of her neighbors has set up a listening session with the Metropolitan Police Department so they can share their concerns and map out potential solutions.

“I have an 11 month old son, and the thought of his life being in danger just while playing at the park on a typical hour of the day is terrifying to me. I think everybody deserves to be safe in their own neighborhood…” Ebay said. “And I think if something like this happened in parts of Northwest or Capitol Hill, there would be resources provided here.”

Neighbors said the community listening session is set for next Wednesday evening.

Lidia de Carrillo had no connection with the man who shot her, police said, and two years later, they are still trying to figure out why Troy Medley pulled the trigger.

Surveillance video captured the gunshots that killed de Carrillo as she sat innocently sitting in a car with her granddaughter in Capitol Heights.

In the video, a car is seen backing up. Prosecutors said that was Medley driving away after the shooting.

According to prosecutors, de Carrillo, 62, had just pulled into the driveway of a relative’s home when Medley got out his car and fired into her car, hitting her in the back.

De Carrillo had been in the U.S. for just one day, visiting to attend the funeral of a grandson killed in a car crash.

“Mr. Troy Medley decided on his own, doesn’t know these folks, he just wanted to shoot and kill that night,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.

Medley also fired shots into a nearby home near a convenience store, investigators said.

Surveillance video captured the gunfire as well as someone firing back from the store, prosecutors said. Someone is seen holding a gun.

Medley’s Lexus was seen on surveillance video at three shooting scenes. A unique exhaust sound can be heard in the videos.

Police in Baltimore arrested Medley on gun charges, impounded the Lexus and recovered two guns, one of which was a potential match for a homicide, investigators said.

A combination of the video, witness accounts and gun evidence led to Medley’s arrest.

Medley was found guilty of second-degree murder, assault and weapons charges. A judge sentenced him to the maximum 85 years in prison.

De Carrillo’s granddaughter, Fatima Carrillo, is satisfied with the sentence.

“We were asking for a maximum penalty, and I feel like 85 years are more than enough,” she said.

“Our family’s never going to be able to move on from that,” Carrillo said.

Medley awaits trial in Baltimore on assault charges, prosecutors said.

Get the D.C. area’s top news and weather delivered to your inbox every morning. Sign up for First & 4Most, our free newsletter.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.

It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals “who don’t treat women appropriately.”

The court had not yet released documentation of the verdict as of Wednesday night. Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.

“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014.

Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991′s “Bugsy,” and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.

The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.

Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.

“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real.”

Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he “committed any sexual offense” and that “any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual.”

He also argued that New York’s law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights.

A message sent to an email address listed for him seeking comment was not immediately answered.

In January, the judge in the case entered a default judgment against Toback, who had failed to appear in court when ordered to do so. The judge then scheduled a trial for only damages last month to determine how much Toback had to pay the women.