Matt Grundhoffer’s Alleged Sexual Abuse Victim’s Request For New Trial Granted
Oct. 15 2019, Updated 6:14 p.m. ET
Matt Grundhoffer’s alleged sexual abuse victim demanded a new trial after a jury sided with the Defendants. Now, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal the legal nightmare for Briana Renee’s estranged husband isn’t over, as a Washington judge approved the Plaintiff’s request for a new trial.
As RadarOnline.com has extensively reported, the Plaintiff, who RadarOnline.com has chosen not to name, sued State of Washington; Department of Social and Health Services; and Child Study Treatment Center on June 4, 2018.
The alleged victim accused Grundhoffer, 42, of sexual abuse when she was a minor patient at the facility he worked at as a counselor in 2009. He was not individually named as a Defendant or criminally charged.
The Plaintiff argued during a weeks-long trial that this misconduct violated Washington Law Against Discrimination. According to the special verdict form filed on June 21, 2019, the jury sided with the Defendants.
But the Plaintiff didn’t give up, as she filed a motion for a new trial, alleging juror misconduct, on July 1.
“Juror 4 was involved in many civil lawsuits, has a documented ‘history of erroneous reporting’ his ex-wife to CPS, had a spouse held under a mental health detention order, and numerous Courts have documented his child abuse,” the court papers claim. “Juror 4 was untruthful, misleading, and failed to disclose key responsive information. The court should decline to enter Judgment until the resolution of this motion and ultimately order a new trial.”
Then on August 20, 2019, the Defendants fought back and filed an Opposition to Plaintiff’s Presentation of the Motion for New Trial and Findings.
“Plaintiff’s motion for new trial is based entirely on conjecture and speculation against the only African American juror in the jury panel of 14,” the court papers read. “Plaintiff, seeing a bad result, has backgrounded and researched one individual out of 14 after three weeks of trial. Juror No. 4 is only one of the 10 jurors who found against Plaintiff at trial, yet he is the only one being attacked by Plaintiff. Nothing in Plaintiff’s motion for new trial based on the alleged misconduct of Juror No. 4 is in any way material to the facts and outcome of this case.”
On August 23, 2019, the court determined that a “new trial is necessary” and that Plaintiff’s Motion for a New Trial “shall be, and hereby is, GRANTED.”
The new trial has been scheduled for January 6, 2020.
As RadarOnline.com reported, the initial trial began on June 3, 2019. An edited portion of Renee’s video deposition played in court, the Judge’s Chambers told RadarOnline.com at the time.
In the deposition, she claimed Grundhoffer told her he had sex with a sick 15 or 16-year old patient because it was her “dying wish.”
Grundhoffer’s video deposition also played for the jury, according to the Judge’s Chambers.
As RadarOnline.com reported, he denied the Plaintiff’s sexual abuse claims during their time at the facility. He did admit to having sexual communications with her when she was released from the facility and of legal age.
Renee filed for divorce from Grundhoffer in November 2017. In December 2017, she filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order against him for her and their son Maverick.
She claimed she found disturbing sexual messages between Grundhoffer and another woman that allegedly involved bestiality and the proposal of sex acts with minor children, including the proposal of involving sex acts with his minor child from a previous relationship. The restraining order was granted for five years.