A Dauphin County jury has handed up an $88 million verdict against an HIV-positive man who pleaded guilty to raping a 6-year-old boy.
After a one-day trial, the jury awarded the victim $38 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages against Ira Scott Task. Task pleaded guilty in March to numerous criminal charges related to raping the child, who is referred to as John Doe on the Dauphin County Court docket. Task represented himself pro se at the civil trial, which was only on damages.
