Rachel Neufeld at age 14.

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A New Jersey woman who says she was groomed and sexually abused by her lifeguard more than 40 years ago finally got the justice she’s been fighting for.

On Friday, August 1, a civil jury in Atlantic County awarded Rachel Neufeld-Del Rossi $3 million after finding former Margate City lifeguard Steven Allen Chasens responsible for sexually abusing her beginning when she was 15 years old in 1979, according to her attorney Jeffrey Fritz of Soloff & Zervanos.

The award includes $1.75 million in compensatory damages and $1.25 million in punitive damages, Fritz said.

Del Rossi testified that Chasens groomed her and sexually assaulted her over a four-year period, beginning when he was an adult lifeguard and she was a teenager. According to trial evidence, the abuse happened in New Jersey and while traveling together to Florida and the Cayman Islands.

Jurors found Chasens liable for sexual battery, intentional infliction of harm, and violations of New Jersey’s Human Trafficking Act.

"I feel vindicated," Del Rossi said. "After decades of struggling and having no voice for myself, tonight, for the first time, I can sleep knowing that I was believed. This verdict speaks for all survivors and I am forever grateful for not only the jury but also the Child Victims Act that gave me the only chance I could to seek accountability."

Passed in 2019, the Child Victims Act allows survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits years—or even decades—after the alleged abuse.

Chasens, who now lives in Coral Gables, FL, and works as an acupuncturist and herbalist, denied the accusations during trial, but the jury found unanimously against him.

Fritz added, “We thank the jury for their service, attentiveness and willingness to condemn the scourge of child sexual abuse. I’m relieved that my client can continue to focus on healing and I remain in awe of her strength and courage."