Charles Brooks Jr. pleaded guilty to injuring a young child in a 2021 incident
A Texas court has ordered a member of a prominent oil family to pay $1.1 billion following a lawsuit related to the abuse of a young child. The individual is already serving a lengthy prison sentence connected to the case.
Charles Brooks Jr. had been accused of assaulting the child of his then-wife while babysitting in 2021, according to The Buzbee Law Firm, which represented the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit stated that Brooks had been asked to babysit the child by Madison Ball, to whom he was married at the time, per the law firm.
On the night of the assault, Brooks called Ball to tell her that the child was unresponsive.
“When Madison Ball expressed alarm and insisted that Brooks call 911, he refused,” the Buzbee firm said in a press release. “Ball called instead. When first responders arrived, they found the child beaten severely, with bite marks on his legs. The child was non-responsive. The brutal beating caused severe brain injury, resulting in the child being confined to a wheelchair and requiring 24-hour care.”
According to Dallas County, Texas court records, Brooks pleaded guilty to injury to a child and was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2023.
CBS reported that the child is now 7 years old.
The Buzbee firm said the lawsuit was filed by Ball and the child’s father on behalf of their son. Attorneys said the jury verdict of $1.1 billion is the largest ever for abuse of a child.
Court records obtained by PEOPLE indicate that the child was awarded $290.9 million in compensatory damages, while the child and his parents received $810 million in punitive damages.
“We claim to value children in our society,” Tony Buzbee said in a statement. “This Texas jury stepped up and showed that. Don’t mess with Texas children. I hope that through this verdict this precious child gets all the care he will need and hopefully make his life as good as it can be made under the circumstances.”
According to Buzbee, Brooks is the great-grandson of Percy Turner, an original investor in Humble Oil, which is now owned by ExxonMobil.
