Ex-MLB baseball player Chad Curtis ordered to pay $1.8M

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered former Major Leaguer Baseball player Chad Curtis to pay $1.8 million to a young woman who accused him of inappropriately touching her when he was a volunteer coach at a western Michigan high school.

U.S. District Judge Janet Neff said Thursday that Curtis "shattered" the trust the victim placed in Curtis.

The woman testified she lost all of her friends soon after she accused Curtis.

The Grand Rapids Press reports Curtis, who represented himself in the civil trial, appeared via video conference from Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian, where he's serving a sentence for sexual assault.

Three other victims at Lakewood High in Barry County earlier settled cases against Curtis. Curtis said each accepted $10,000.

Curtis played for six teams including the Detroit Tigers.

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Information from: The Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids