A New York jury has awarded $11.3 million to a former player in Riverside Church’s youth basketball program who was sexually abused as a teenager by the program’s longtime director, Ernest “Ernie” Lorch. PCVA represented the survivor, who is identified in court papers by his initials, J.M.
The six-member jury in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan deliberated for nearly five hours on October 7, 2026. It found that Riverside Church acted recklessly and was responsible for the abuse, and it awarded J.M. $7.5 million for past pain and suffering and $3.8 million for future damages.
