East Bay horse trainer ordered to pay $9M to woman who accused him of drugging, raping her
East Bay horse trainer ordered to pay $9 million after alleged sex assault
An Alameda County Superior Court judge has ordered an ex-horse trainer at Golden Gates Fields to pay $9 million in damages to a woman who accused him of drugging her drink and sexually assaulting her in concert with another man.
BERKELEY, Calif. - A former horse trainer at Golden Gate Fields has been ordered to pay $9 million in damages to a woman who accused him of drugging and raping her five years ago.
An Alameda County Superior Court judge found that it was "more probable than not" that Ari Herbertson put a date rape drug into the woman's drink at the racing track, then raped her at a nearby soccer field in 2019, the East Bay Times reported.
Herbertson has already been convicted on a criminal charge.
He pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to a year in jail.
Charges of sexual battery, sexual penetration and assault with intent to commit a sex crime were dropped in the plea deal, the East Bay Times reported.