$1 Billion Verdict for Rape Victim Assaulted by Unlicensed Armed Security Guard

In October 2012, a 14-year-old girl was outside an apartment complex in Jonesboro, Georgia, when a man in a security guard uniform approached her and her boyfriend. He ordered the boyfriend not to move, then sexually assaulted her. The guard, Brandon Lamar Zachary, was 22 years old at the time. He was later convicted of statutory rape, rape, and child molestation, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Zachary had been employed by Crime Prevention Agency, a security company operating in the Atlanta area. He was not licensed to work as an armed guard, a basic credentialing requirement under Georgia law. The company placed him on post anyway, armed, at a residential property where families lived.

L. Chris Stewart filed a civil suit on behalf of the victim. Before trial, a judge found Crime Prevention Agency liable for negligent hiring, ruling that the company had failed to verify Zachary's licensing status before putting him in a position of authority at a residential complex. The jury's role was to decide the amount of damages.

On May 23, 2018, the jury returned a verdict of $1 billion in compensatory damages. Stewart described the award as a record amount for a single-victim sexual assault case in the United States. The National Crime Victim Bar Association told CBS News it had never seen a $1 billion verdict involving one victim. Experts quoted in coverage noted that appellate review would likely reduce the final number, as courts examine whether large damage awards are proportionate to comparable cases. Crime Prevention Agency had dissolved in 2016, and any collection would depend on its insurance coverage or successor entities.

The verdict drew national attention because it framed the case not as an isolated criminal act but as a foreseeable consequence of a company cutting corners on the most basic safety check before arming a guard and deploying him among residents.