Audrie Pott wrongful death case settled for $950K

The parents of Saratoga teen Audrie Pott settled a wrongful death case Friday with the parents of two boys who sexually assaulted her before she committed suicide in 2012, according to a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

The two boys, who were 16 at the time of the incident, are now 18 years old. Lawyers for a third boy arranged a settlement with Audrie’s parents late last month.

Audrie was 15 years old when she attended an unsupervised party in Saratoga on Sept. 2, 2012. An attorney for Audrie’s parents said their daughter had fallen unconscious after drinking alcohol when the three boys sexually assaulted her and someone took one or more photos of the assault.

At least one photo was shared with others, sent out by text, emailed and posted on Facebook.

The boys removed Audrie’s clothing and wrote on her body with a felt pen, the wrongful death suit said. Eight days later Audrie tried to kill herself. She hanged herself, went into a coma and died after being removed from life support.

Insurance companies for the parents of the two boys will pay $950,000 as part of the settlement announced Friday.

Superior court spokesman Joseph Macaluso said the parents of the boys want people to know the money will be paid by their homeowner’s insurance policies. How much of the $950,000 each family will pay was not immediately available.

The settlement includes 12 non-monetary terms too. The defendants must admit to the truth of the allegations in the criminal complaints that pertain to Audrie on the record before Judge Brian Walsh, who presided over the case.

Each defendant must publish an apology that says they committed the acts against Audrie and shared images of her with others. The apology says that the defendants would like others to know that words about someone’s character can alter someone’s life.

The defendants must also support an effort to have Audrie granted an honorary diploma from Saratoga High School where she was a sophomore when she died.

The settlement requires the defendants to make a public verbal apology on the record in front of Walsh, similar to the one to be published.

Each defendant is to give 10 presentations to high school students or other youth on the issues of sexting, disseminating nude photographs, soliciting nude photographs, slut shaming and spreading rumors and the dangers of alcohol and drugs. Sexting is the sending or sharing of sexually explicit text messages or images by email or social media.

The defendants will face a monetary penalty if the terms of the settlement are not met. The penalty could be as little as $5,000 or as much as $100,000.

The settlement says the public apologies must be completed by Monday.