Bittersweet Justice: Rick and Evelyn Jackson

“A Eugene woman who sued her adoptive parents for $9 million after disclosing that her father — a longtime Eugene insurance agent — had sexually abused her when she was a child has agreed to settle the civil case.

Details of the agreement between Rick and Evelyn Jackson and their adopted daughter are to remain confidential, according to documents filed late last week in Lane County Circuit Court by an attorney representing Evelyn Jackson.

The victim sued the Jacksons in January, one month after Rick Jackson was arrested on child sexual abuse charges. The 61-year-old insurance agent and former church pastor pleaded guilty to 10 felonies in April and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Jacksons divorced in January in an arrangement that allowed Rick Jackson to transfer to his ex-wife his interest in six real estate properties with a combined value of about $1.5 million.

The adopted daughter alleged in the lawsuit that she had legal claims against Rick Jackson and that the “fraudulent” property transfer made him insolvent and was done to “hinder, delay or defraud her.”

Brad Litchfield, a Eugene lawyer who represented Evelyn Jackson in the case, said in court documents that “performance of the settlement obligations require the orderly liquidation of noncash assets, which may take several months to finalize” and should be completed by February 2017.

Attorneys for the victim did not immediately respond Friday to emailed requests for comment.

Before his arrest, Rick Jackson ran a Farmers Insurance office on River Road. The office building is one of the properties that had been jointly owned by the Jacksons before their divorce.

Other properties include the family’s 2,600-square-foot home in southwest Eugene; a small commercial property in Junction City; a single-family home in west Eugene; and two duplexes in west Eugene, both of which are listed as being for sale.

Rick Jackson is serving his prison sentence at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla. He turned himself in to police in December after the victim confronted him and urged him to confess to his family.

The victim said at Jackson’s sentencing hearing that her 11 siblings have stood by her throughout the ordeal and acted as protective parents to her. The Jacksons’ children all sat together in court, with Evelyn Jackson seated on the opposite side of the courtroom.

The victim’s lawsuit said Eve­lyn Jackson was aware of the sexual abuse, which occurred when the adopted daughter was between the ages of 3 and 12. The Jacksons adopted her when she was 3.”

Woman settles sex abuse lawsuit[The Register Guard 6/6/16 by Jack Morris]
REFORM Puzzle Piece