MINNEAPOLIS: A US jury has awarded a woman nearly $1 million in a civil lawsuit against a Minnesota man she says sexually assaulted her when she was 14 and living in Laos. The jury's verdict, thought to be unprecedented in the US District Court in Minneapolis, holds the man accountable for violating child sex trafficking laws. Panyia Vang, now 24, moved to the Minneapolis area with her family after she became pregnant with the man's child. He is accused in court documents of threatening to keep Vang from seeing their child unless she submitted to his sexual demands. One of Vang's lawyers, Linda Miller, said she hoped the award would send a strong message about the consequences for those considering travelling abroad to have sex with underage girls.

Source: Bangkok Post May 12, 2017 13:18 UTC