- A federal judge ordered Shaun Harrison, 58, to pay over $10 million to a kid he shot in the head.
- Harrison was a beloved dean at a Boston high school.
A federal judge on Friday ordered a former dean at a Boston school to pay more than $10 million in damages to a former student he shot.
Shaun Harrison, former dean at English High School, was convicted in 2018 of assault after he shot a then 17-year-old in the back of the head.
He had recruited the teen to help him distribute marijuana throughout the school, The Associated Press reported at the time. But then the two got into an argument, and Harrison shot him in 2015. The teen received treatment at a hospital and told the police Harrison was the one who shot him.
The 17-year-old, Luis Rodriguez, is paralyzed from having been shot and he has hearing problems, as well as facial neuropathy, a condition that brings about severe attacks of pain on the face, The AP reported. Rodriguez has also developed an opioid addiction because he takes prescription pills to deal with severe pain from the bullet that's still present inside his head.
Harrison received a 26-year prison sentence in 2018. And on Friday, he was instructed to pay $7.5 million in damages for pain and emotional distress, as well as $2.5 million in punitive damages. He also had to cough up $80,000 to cover the teen's medical costs, The AP reported.
The trial leading up to his conviction revealed that Harrison, 58, led a double life. He was beloved by students, who affectionately called him "Rev," according to The AP. He served as a student mentor and youth minister.
But he moonlighted as an affiliate of the Latin Kings gang, The AP reported. In that role, he got students at the high school he once worked at to deal marijuana to other kids.
"The judgment against Mr. Harrison as an individual will ensure that he is never able to profit from any endeavors when he is released from prison, including selling the rights to this story for publication," Rodriguez's lawyer, John Martin, told The AP.