Bresnniel Jansen Mones (pictured) was first charged for sexual misconduct in January 2014
A Florida jury awarded $49.3 million to a former high-school student who was raped by her former geometry teacher in his classroom.
‘I was 16 years old at the time, and he had complete control over me,’ the unidentified victim, now 20, told NBC News 6 on Wednesday.
‘I try not thinking about it and I don’t speak of it unless I have to face a certain situation. But other than that I try and go about my normal day.’
The crimes were committed in 2013, when the victim said her teacher, Bresnniel Jansen Mones, began an inappropriate sexual relationship with the Miami-Dade sophomore, culminating in ‘a semester’s worth of abuse.’
Mones was arrested in January 2014, charged on two counts of sexual act with a familial child and one count of electronic transmission harmful to minors, NBC News reported.
The victim endured a semester’s worth of abuse’ during her sophomore year, according to her lawyers
Mones, 35, repeatedly raped the 16-year-old on his desk during school hours at South Dade High School (pictured)
Miami’s Leighton Law firm, who represented the victim known in court documents as C.R.R., said that the teacher’s sexual misconduct only intensified in the lead up to his arrest, with Mones, 35, repeatedly raping the 16-year-old on his desk during school hours.
The settlement comes as scores of women from the entertainment industry have come forward to accuse some of Hollywood’s most powerful men of sexual harassment and abuse.
‘It’s crazy to see how often this goes on in the world and even though so many people keep coming out, it’s still going on,’ she said.
‘Speak out now. It’s never too late. Don’t be afraid. There’s people rooting for you.’
The jury said Mones would have to pay $13,906 for the former South Dade High School student’s past medical expenses; $255,000 for her future medical expenses; $4 million for past mental anguish, pain and suffering; and $15 million for future mental anguish, pain and suffering, according to The Miami Herald.
The jury also awarded the victim $30 million in punitive damages. C.R.R. settled separately with the school district for an undisclosed amount.
Court records show that Mones admitted to the allegations after police read him his Miranda rights.
After pleading guilty to the charges, Mones was given six months in prison. Upon his release, he was given 10 years probation and is currently registered as a sex offender.
John Leighton and Max Panoff, C.R.R’s trial attorneys, say Mones had previously tried to lure another underage girl at a diffrent high school.
‘At least one other young student was approached and was engaged in a texting relationship with (Mones) attempting to groom and escalate the relationship,’ the lawyers wrote in an affidavit.
‘The girl’s parents found out, terminated it, and alerted the school. (Mones) was the subject of an investigation, which found that he made inappropriate contact with the student. But he was not disciplined.’
The victim’s lawyers, trial attorneys John Leighton (left) and Max Panoff, said that Mones was previously caught trying to lure another high school student before 2013