A Cook County jury has dropped a staggering $50 million verdict on a Chicago-area climbing company after an eight-year-old boy was sexually assaulted while enrolled at a Peoria day camp in July 2022. The two-week civil trial ended Monday with jurors awarding $49 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. Lawyers for the child say the figure is a record award against a summer camp and a blunt warning about what can happen when for-profit fitness centers cut corners on youth supervision.
Lead plaintiff’s attorney Bradley M. Cosgrove called the assault “life altering and childhood ending” and said jurors needed “just over two hours” to decide negligence before moving on to punishment, according to a press release. The jury, described as seven women and five men, then spent about an hour weighing punitive damages and ultimately added $1 million. In a press release from Clifford Law Offices, the firm identified the defendant as First Ascent LLC, doing business as First Ascent Climbing & Fitness, and listed the case as John Doe v. First Ascent LLC, case no. 2024 L 7938.
What the camp says and where it operates
First Ascent’s own website shows the company operates youth programs and day camps across Illinois, including a Peoria facility that offers reservations and programming through a local contact. The Peoria page lists an email address and phone number for that site and notes that First Ascent runs multiple Chicago-area gyms along with seasonal youth offerings. Online materials for the Peoria location promote classes, camps and other youth programming, which is where the plaintiffs say the assault took place.
What the trial found
According to Clifford Law Offices, evidence at trial showed the boys were left without adult supervision for roughly 50 minutes. Registration records, the firm says, flagged that the older camper required constant supervision. A rape kit collected after the incident tested positive. Attorneys told jurors the assault occurred on July 18, 2022, and that the older camper was 13 and the victim eight at the time. The jury found negligence as well as willful and wanton misconduct in Cook County Circuit Court and awarded damages to the child and his family.
How this compares
If confirmed as a record against a summer camp, the $50 million verdict would tower over previous outcomes. Jury Verdict Reporter cites a roughly $21.5 million verdict related to a drowning at a summer day camp as the earlier high-water mark. Civil awards of this size frequently trigger a round of post-trial motions and appeals, a pattern attorneys say defendants often use to chip away at or overturn large verdicts. Hon. Eileen O’Connor presided over the two-week trial, which plaintiffs say ended with a clear directive to youth-program operators about the cost of lax supervision.
Clifford Law Offices held a press conference Monday evening and reported posting a recording of the remarks. The case now moves into the post-trial phase, where court filings will show whether the defense seeks a new trial or a reduction of the award. Plaintiffs’ attorneys say the verdict sends a pointed message to camps and parents alike about what is at stake when supervision breaks down in youth programs.
