A jury on Friday threw out a lawsuit filed by a man who says he was sexually abused at Boys Town, the home for wayward youths made famous in a 1938 Spencer Tracy film.
A Douglas County jury deliberated for just over an hour after a two-week trial before ruling against 23-year-old John Sturzenegger. He claimed he was sexually abused by Glenn Moore in 1997 while a 14-year-old resident of Boys Town. He had sought up to $1 million dollars in damages.
Moore said Friday he was relieved to be vindicated.
“I’m glad it came out the way it did,” Moore said. “Finally, I can tell everyone, ‘That’s not me. That’s not my family.”’
Moore no longer works at Boys Town.
In his suit, Sturzenegger said Moore was a house supervisor. Sturzenegger said he was fondled and offered money to run around naked, expose himself and masturbate.
During the trial, Sturzenegger told several variations of the story, and several people testified that he was a liar and a manipulator.
Sturzenegger’s attorney, James Sherrets, did not immediately return a call Friday seeking comment.
The center was known as Boys Town until 2000, when it changed its name to Girls and Boys Town. Headquartered in Omaha, it has worked with troubled children since it was founded by the Rev. Edward J. Flanagan in 1917. It operates programs in 15 states.
Sturzenegger’s case was the first trial arising from five sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the center in recent years. Another is pending in federal court, and the others were dropped or dismissed.
The film “Boys Town” starred Tracy and Mickey Rooney.
