North Texas jury awards $295 million to child sexual abuse survivor
A Montague County jury last Friday awarded nearly $300 million to a 20-year-old woman whose stepfather sexually abused her for years while she was a child, according to court documents.
The woman, Hailey Dickerson, had been waiting for justice for over 10 years, said attorney Brian Butcher, who represented her in the lawsuit.
Dickerson was 10 years old when she made the initial outcry about her stepfather, Max Hahn IV, who abused her for a period of time while she, her mother and siblings lived in his home, she said.
“I don’t know how long it was — it felt like forever,” Dickerson told the Star-Telegram. “As soon as I told my mom, she got me out of there.”
The decision to make the outcry was motivated in part by her siblings, Dickerson said. The psychological toll of the abuse was causing her to lash out at her sister, and the breaking point came after she “put her hands” on her sibling.
“It wasn’t just affecting me anymore. It caused me to hurt my sister,” Dickerson said. “And there was a chance, I didn’t know if it was happening to my sister or not.”
Hahn was initially criminally charged in 2015 with sexual abuse of a child, according to court records. The trial in that case ended in a hung jury, and Hahn ultimately was sentenced to community supervision in 2018 on a charge of injury to a child.
When Dickerson turned 18, the family’s attorney, Brian Butcher, asked her whether she would like to continue pursuing the civil case against Hahn.
“I was thrilled to do that because I was going to be able to tell my part of my story and be heard, and that’s all I really cared about,” Dickerson said.
Butcher and paralegal Glenda Olsen deserve recognition, too, Dickerson said.
“I wouldn’t have had the voice that I had today without them,” she said. “They were my motivation through this whole thing.”
When Dickerson was called to testify at Hahn’s civil trial, her hands shook uncontrollably as she took the oath, she said. What pushed her forward was her will to make her voice heard.
“I knew what I was doing was right,” Dickerson said. “It was very hard, but I knew it was the right thing.”
The multi-million dollar verdict is still subject to an appeals process, but that doesn’t matter to Dickerson. If she doesn’t get the money, she said, she’s going to keep going on with her life and healing.
“I got my fulfillment that I needed,” Dickerson said. “I got my closure that I wanted.”
Dickerson’s advice for other victims who may be in similar circumstances is to not let fear keep them silent, she said.
Attorneys for Hahn could not immediately be reached for comment.
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 7:58 PM.
