Judge Approves $80 Million Settlement in School Psychiatrist Student Sex Assault Case

A state judge has officially approved an $80 million settlement between Kamehameha Schools and dozens of former students who were sexually assaulted decades ago.

Probate Judge Mark Browning approved the deal Friday afternoon, which will trigger the first payments to the victims in the next two weeks.

"It's in the best interest of Kamehameha Schools, the Bishop Estate trust to have this ended and there needs to be closure for these victims," Browning said, during a hearing on Sept. 13.

More than 30 victims, many of them now in their 50s and 60s, sued the school and St. Francis Medical Center, saying they were sexually molested by former St. Francis psychiatrist Robert Browne decades ago.

Browne, who committed suicide in 1991, was the head of psychiatry at the hospital.

St. Francis now is appealing the settlement, which could take years to resolve.

But in court documents, Kamehameha Schools' trustees called the appeal a delay tactic.

"This not acceptable to the trustees."

Under the settlement, the victims will share $65 million in the first year, minus legal fees. The rest will be paid out over the next two years.

Source: "Judge approved $80M in Kamehameha School sex abuse settlement," Hawaii News Now, September 24, 2018, URL: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/39163145/judge-approves-80m-kamehameha-schools-sex-abuse-settlement/