The Clark County Commission on Tuesday approved a $300,000 settlement for a woman who sued after she was attacked by a teenager when the victim was a counselor at a camp for youth offenders.
The lawsuit, which called the attack “horrific,” alleged negligence because the county did not properly train, equip and protect the woman who suffered an attempt on her life on May 6, 2022.
“Sadly, Nevada law limits the amount of recovery available to my client,” attorney Rob Murdock said in a statement after the vote. “That said, a payment of this amount by the County, in excess of the limit, is a recognition of fault and an apology.”
Tavari Pearson, then age 15, was being housed at the Spring Mountain Youth Camp at Mount Charleston when he struck the victim in the head with a rock and sexually assaulted her while out on a walk, police said.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal typically does not identify victims of sex crimes.
The suspect was charged with a bevy of felonies, including attempted murder, and was ordered to stand trial as an adult.
Pearson was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison in December through a plea agreement before he faced a jury, court records show.
‘Foreseeable danger’
The county operates the camp that houses boys between the ages of 12 and 18 who are in the youth criminal justice system, the county said.
“This division provides for the therapeutic, educational, social, medical and recreational needs of approximately 240 young men each year,” according to the county.
The camp barred “high-risk juvenile sex offenders” from its programs, according to the lawsuit. Pearson had a “prior sex offense” on his record when he was admitted, the suit said.
“However, he was placed there anyway by Defendant Clark County,” the complaint said. “Defendant Pearson posed a foreseeable danger to persons such as Plaintiff. Defendant Clark County was aware of (the) same.”
At the time of the attack, the victim was a mental health counselor who’d been treating Pearson for about four months, according to the suit.
The counselor mostly met with Pearson remotely due to pandemic protocols, but had seen him a few times in person, the lawsuit said.
The victim “was not told that she could not go outside with the ‘inmates,’ nor was she told that there was no camera coverage in the outside areas, nor that the areaswere not secured,” the complaint said. She also wasn’t given an alarm to use in case of emergency, the lawsuit said.
Goal of case was to bring change, lawyer says
The day of the attack, Pearson appeared upset, so she suggested they go on a walk, the suit said.
The counselor had done this with Peterson and others in the past “in order to teach coping skills, deep breathing techniques and calming techniques,” the suit said.
“Jane Doe was not provided with a full background report on Defendant Tavari Pearson by Defendant Clark County at any time,” the lawsuit said. “Yet, Defendant Clark County was acutely aware of Defendant Pearson’s background, legal history, his proclivities related to violence and sexual assault…”
The victim suffered injuries including a large cut to her head, a broken orbital bone, a fractured cheek, a torn tongue, bruising and other cuts, the lawsuit said.
“The goal of this case was not really monetary compensation,” attorney Murdock told the Review-Journal. “It was to have the County fix their issues and we believe that the County has taken steps in the right direction.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
