BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - A convicted sex offender from southern Kentucky has been ordered to pay $1.8 million to the victim of five years of molestation.
U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell on Wednesday concluded that 35-year-old Jeffrey Lawan Renfrow of Morgantown made no effort to stop the abuse.
"Conversely, the Court has heard extensive testimony on Plaintiff's emotional suffering and the long-lasting impact (Renfrow's) sexual abuse has caused," Russell wrote in a six-page decision.
The judgment stems from a civil suit brought by the victim against Renfrow in federal court in Bowling Green.
Russell awarded $850,000 in compensatory damages, $1 million in punitive damages and $46,800 for toward future medical treatment.
Renfrow is serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of three counts of second-degree sodomy and three counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
Renfrow sexually abused a boy in his care between Nov. 24, 2005, and July 17, 2010. The victim, now an adult, no longer lives in Butler County.
The victim testified at an Oct. 8 hearing that Renfrow sexually abused him about 10 times a week by inappropriate sexual contact and comments.
Prior to the sexual abuse, the victim considered Renfrow his closest friend and referred to Renfrow as his brother, according to the order.
"Plaintiff did not expose the sexual abuse earlier because he was told by a doctor that he would be taken from his mother and placed back in foster care," Russell said.
The judge found that the victim's childhood sexual abuse by Renfrow led to "severe and persistent emotional distress" and struggles in all facets of his life.
The plaintiff in the suit is now an adult. The Associated Press does not name the victims of sexual assault.