NEWS
$295 million verdict returned in child sexual abuse case
A Montague County civil jury has returned a $295 million verdict in favor of Hailey Dickerson, now 20, who was sexually abused as a child by Bridgeport resident Max Hahn IV while living on his ranch on Bugscuffle Road outside Bowie.
The verdict is one of the largest in of its kind ever awarded in the United States and believed to be the second largest single-plaintiff sexual abuse verdict ever awarded in the Unite States.
On Oct. 31 the jury, after hearing evidence in a week-long trial, unanimously found Hahn committed assault, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault and injury to a child against Dickerson when she was between 8 and 10 years of age.
At the time, Hahn was dating Hailey’s mother, who lived on Hahn’s ranch with her four children.
Dickerson disclosed the abuse to her mother and later to a sexual assault nurse examiner and a trained forensic interviewer at a child advocacy center. Hahn denied the allegations, and his 2018 criminal trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury.
Hahn was later re-indicted and pleaded no contest to the charge of injury to a child, receiving a probated sentence.
Dickerson’s attorney, Brian Butcher of the Noteboom Law Firm in Fort Worth, said the evidence of guilt was overwhelming.
“The details Hailey recounted as a tiny and terrified child remained consistent across time and independent evaluations,” Butcher said.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Members of the Bowie City Council will face a brief agenda when they meet at 6 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the council chambers.
Following routine reports and consent agenda items, the council will consider a resolution authorizing submission of the city’s 2027/2028 Texas Community Development Block Grant application to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Then council members will consider approving Bob Blackburn for appointment as a reserve police officer with the Bowie Police Department.
Following an executive session, the council will discuss and potentially take action regarding the annual employment evaluations and duties of both the City Secretary and the Municipal Court Judge.
After nearly three months of no rain, Mother Nature brought the showers this past week.
Downtown Bowie rain reports varied from 7 to 8 inches, while the Saint Jo area reported a 10-inch total. The city water plant in Bowie reported 5.55 inches on Sept. 30 with 1.6 Oct. 1-3.
Nocona saw a total of 6.31 inches of rain across Sept. 26 to Oct. 3.
On Oct. 6, Lake Amon G. Carter saw a level of 917.39 mean sea level rising to 81.31% full. Just one week earlier the lake was 73.6% full, while one year ago it was 94.01%. The lake is full at 920msl.
Lake Nocona was 73.7% full at 823.02 on Oct 6. One week earlier it was 70.41% full and one year ago it was 92.41%. The lake is full at 827.5 msl.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
One Montague County City has joined the battle against any data centers being built in this county and there is a petition drive underway to urge the commissioner’s court to keep data centers out of Montague County.
At a Sept. 28 called meeting of the Saint Jo City Council, officials unanimously approved a resolution stating its opposition to the “siting, permitting, construction or operation of data centers and similar hyperscale computing facilities within the city limits or the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.”
City Secretary Debbie Dennis said several citizens approached Councilor Jack Dunn about their data center concerns and he helped prepare a resolution. The council gave unanimous support.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
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