Herald v. Hood

Herald v. Hood was a 1992 civil case from Ohio in which Julie Herald sued her uncle, Dennis Hood, alleging sexual abuse from age 3 (in 1962) through 15. The memory returned while Herald was watching her 4-year-old daughter play with a friend. Herald had multiple forms of corroboration for her memories including a confession from the perpetrator; she presented a taped telephone conversation in which her uncle indicated that she “had been the only one.” Two therapists also testified that at a meeting with Herald in their offices, he admitted sexually abusing her. She was awarded $150,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The Ohio Supreme Court recently upheld the decision. (Reginald Fields, “Witness Says She Felt Confusion and Guilt; Memory of Sex Abuse Comes Back by Observing Daughter, Court is Told,” Akron Beacon Journal, July 25, 1992: C1.) • Dennis Hood’s testimony verifying (a) that knew the subject matter of Julie Herald’s phone call and (b) that his voice and Julie Herald’s are the ones on the tape.• Complete transcript of the telephone call in which Dennis Hood acknowledges abusing Julie Herald• Dr. Devies’s testimony on the confrontation between Julie Herald and Dennis Hood in his office.• Ms. Kepler-Didato’s testimony about the same meeting, including the events immediately thereafter.