Tawana Brawley Ordered to Pay $185,000 for False Rape Claim

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. —  Tawana Brawley was ordered Friday to pay $185,000 in defamation damages by a judge who accused the young black woman of “perpetuating a lie” with her claim of rape at the hands of a gang of whites.

“It is probable that in the history of this state, never has a teenager turned the prosecutorial and judicial systems literally upside down with such false claims,” state Supreme Court Justice S. Barrett Hickman wrote.

The damages were awarded to Steven Pagones, a white former prosecutor who was falsely accused by Brawley’s advisors of taking part in the alleged rape. More than two months ago, a jury ordered the advisors to pay Pagones $345,000 for defaming him.

The advisors, the Rev. Al Sharpton, C. Vernon Mason and Alton Maddox, created a furor in 1988 by alleging that a 15-year-old was attacked by a group of white men. A grand jury later found evidence that Brawley, now 26, concocted her tale.

During her advisors’ defamation trial, Brawley ignored repeated attempts to get her to appear in court and tell her story under oath for the first time.

In fact, Pagones won a default judgment against Brawley in 1991 after she ignored his subpoenas. But the judge waited until the advisors’ trial was over before assessing damages against her.

Hickman awarded Pagones $180,000 in punitive damages and $5,000 in compensatory damages.

Pagones did not respond to attempts to contact him Friday. But he has said previously that he doesn’t have much hope of collecting the money owed him.

Brawley, who now lives in the Washington area, has avoided speaking to the media and could not be reached for comment Friday.