69´«Ã½

A Cayuga 69´«Ã½ Supreme Court jury issued a verdict Thursday that the district was negligent in its supervision of Pamela Deacon O'Grady, a student there in the late '70s and early '80s, during her sexual abuse by music teacher Thomas R. Camp. However, the jury also found that the district's negligence was not a substantial factor in the abuse, so the district was found not liable for damages.

The trial began Nov. 13 and was based on an October 2019 lawsuit by O'Grady, who was represented by attorneys Michael G. Dowd and Georgia Kosmakos.

Kosmakos told 69´«Ã½ her client is disappointed by the outcome of the trial but "satisfied that she can be one more voice for victims of sexual abuse." 

Charles Spagnoli, a partner at the 69´«Ã½ school district's law firm, Ferrera Fiorenza, confirmed the jury's decision. 

"The school district is pleased that a just result was rendered," Spagnoli told the 69´«Ã½.

When asked by 69´«Ã½ about the district being found negligent in its supervision of O'Grady, Spagnoli declined comment. 

A separate lawsuit by O'Grady against Camp was settled after the jury's decision was announced, Dowd and Kosmakos said, but they declined to discuss the terms of the settlement. 

Kosmakos said Camp did not deny during the trial that sexual abuse occurred while he was a teacher and O'Grady was a student, and conceded liability for her abuse.

Dowd and Kosmakos also praised O'Grady for how she handled the case.

"Pamela Deacon O'Grady is a remarkable woman who exuded incredible grace under stress and pressure," Dowd said.

"I'm certainly going to carry that and her with me in every other case I have representing victims of abuse." 

Camp's attorney, David Fulvio of law firm Barclay Damon, did not respond to a request by 69´«Ã½ for comment.

Presiding over the trial was Judge Joseph Waldorf of New York State Supreme Court, 7th Judicial District. He issued a decision in April allowing O'Grady's lawsuit to go to trial. The judge granted the school district's motion to dismiss two causes of action in the lawsuit, but denied motions to dismiss three others. Ryan McClaine served as co-counsel with Spagnoli in representing the 69´«Ã½ school district.

O'Grady's lawsuit said her sexual abuse by Camp began in 1978 and lasted until 1983, while she was in college. She said the teacher abused her on at least 630 occasions before his resignation from the district in June 1980, followed by another 350. She was able to file the lawsuit due to the New York State Child Victims Act's look-back window for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.