Jury Awards $21.3 Million in Damages in a Colorado Custody Battle Involving False Abuse Allegations

A jury has awarded $21.3 million in damages after finding an ex-husband corruptly manipulated his Routt County divorce proceedings to gain full custody of his children by falsely alleging his ex-wife’s new fiancé sexually abused one of the children.

The mother of the three children said in court filings that her ex-husband, Steven Herron, “concocted and cultivated a false narrative” for law enforcement officers, medical professionals, child-protective staffers and, ultimately, the judge overseeing the divorce, to “destroy her relationship with her children” and gain parenting time.

“I lost my family,” Cynthia Hayek of Steamboat Springs testified during the trial. “I lost — I had a great relationship with my kids. I lost that. It’s gone. I don’t think I’m ever going to get it back. I’ve lost respect for a system that I thought would help and protect me.”

Read the source article at The Gazette