January 08, 2010
Landmark Sex Abuse Case Settled Against Federal Government
Adam Horowitz, an attorney with Mermelstein & Horowitz, P.A., announced today that a settlement of $650,000 was reached in a landmark case filed against the United States government. The U.S. government appealed a federal court order to pay nearly $600,000 to Lavetta Elk, an Oglala Sioux teenager sexually assaulted by her military recruiter in early 2003. (Elk v. United States, Court of Federal Claims, Case No. 05-186L) Sgt. Joseph Kopf, a U.S. military recruiter, sexually assaulted Elk, a 19-year-old Oglala Sioux woman, on a remote part of the Pine Ridge reservation. Prior to the assault, Sgt. Kopf had been working with Lavetta to assist her in achieving her lifelong dream of joining the U.S. Army.Click Here For The Full Story......