$750,000 RULING AGAINST ABQ DOCTOR

Woman alleged ABQ doctor tried to force her to have sex in his home

Jury rules in favor of woman who says she was sexually assaulted after hanging out at the Tanoan Country Club pool with physician, who still practices medicine in the city.

An Albuquerque jury handed down a $750,000 judgment against an Albuquerque doctor accused of sexual assault in a civil case, according to an attorney for the woman who brought the complaint.

The jury ruled mostly in favor of Michelle Trujillo, who accused Dr. Anthony Reeve of assault, false imprisonment and intention to inflict emotional distress, said Jessica Hernandez, one of Trujillo’s attorneys.

The jury ruled in Reeve’s favor on Trujillo’s complaints of battery and negligence, Hernandez said.

“It has been a very long and difficult road for Michelle to receive some resolution and closure for what happened to her,” Hernandez said.

The Journal last week carried a column about the case, which stemmed from an encounter in the summer of 2013.

Trujillo said that after hanging out at the Tanoan Country Club pool, Reeve took her to his house and tried to force her to have sex. She alleged that she had to run from his house naked after he stripped her and assaulted her.

The award includes $280,000 in compensatory damages and $470,000 in punitive damages, Hernandez said.

She said Reeve still practices medicine in Albuquerque.

Reeve’s attorneys could not be reached for comment Friday or Monday. They contended that the encounter was consensual.

A jury was seated last Tuesday and went into deliberations Thursday at 2 p.m. It came back with the verdict Friday afternoon.

Second Judicial District Judge Nan Nash presided over the case.

A grand jury, two years after the incident, indicted Reeve on five counts of misdemeanor battery charges, but the case eventually was dismissed.

In civil cases, juries consider the preponderance of the evidence; in criminal cases, they have to find a defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.