Extra $60K awarded to Lalo victim

Nova Scotia's highest court has awarded another $60,000 to a victim of child abuser Cesar Lalo, a former provincial probation officer.

In a decision released Tuesday, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal said the extra money was to cover future counselling for the man, who can only be identified as L.M.M.

The court determined that the amount awarded earlier — $250,000 for lost wages and $125,000 for pain and suffering — was appropriate.

The Court of Appeal heard the case in April.

L.M.M. argued that he should have been awarded more money. He noted that another victim, identified as B.M.G., was awarded $640,000 in the first case against Lalo to go through the courts.

The province argued that the two cases could not be compared. It claimed that the amount awarded to L.M.M. for lost wages was too high.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the cross-appeal by the province.

L.M.M. was eight years old when he met Lalo. He said the abuse began when he was 13.

Lalo was convicted of sexually assaulting 29 boys from 1973 to 1989 while working as a probation officer and social worker in the province.

He was released on parole in September 2009 after serving five years of a nine-year prison sentence.

Nine other victims have settled their cases with the province without going to court. The amount of those settlements was not disclosed.