A Multnomah County jury has awarded $800,000 to a 40-year-old man who said he was sexually abused as a child by his youth pastor.

During a seven-day trial that ended Wednesday, the man testified he was, as a 13- or 14-year-old, molested by John “Dave” Ransdell when Ransdell was 23 or 24 years old. Ransdell was working as youth pastor for Corbett Community Church at the time, in 1991.

The plaintiff -- identified in the lawsuit as W.S.B. -- wasn’t able to clearly articulate to his parents what allegedly had happened. He also didn’t make a report to police.

He did tell a girlfriend, however, when he was 16, his attorneys say. Randall Vogt and Barb Long say their client had been punching himself since he was a teenager. After a particularly bad episode at age 38 and a call to his mother in which he said he felt suicidal, his mother persuaded him to see a therapist.

He told the therapist about the alleged abuse, and it was then that he connected his lifelong struggles directly to Ransdell’s alleged acts, according to his attorneys.

“She told him that type of coping mechanism is very common in survivors of sex abuse,” Long said of the punching episodes.

During trial, W.S.B. testified in detail about the alleged abuse -- including how he slept over at Ransdell’s house about 30 times, went on two overnight church-sanctioned trips with him, shared a sleeping bag with him, and was coerced into softly massaging Ransdell while they were both in their underpants. W.S.B. testified that during one episode, Ransdell had him touch Ransdell’s genitals but that his memory blacks out after that.

“Given that sort of trauma, a memory blackout is common,” Long said.

W.S.B. grew up in the Corbett area. He now lives in the Portland area.

After deliberating over three days this week, the civil jury found 12-0 that Ransdell had sexually abused W.S.B. -- and that Ransdell’s position as a youth pastor allowed him to build a relationship of trust with W.S.B. and his parents, and ultimately abuse him.

The jury agreed 9-3 to award $800,000 to W.S.B, who had asked for $2 million.

At the time of trial, the church was listed as the sole defendant in the lawsuit, under the argument that Ransdell was its agent or employee. Ransdell originally had been listed as a defendant but was later dismissed after it became clear he had few assets.

An insurance company for the 90-member church will pay the award.

John Knowles, who represented Corbett Community Church, said church leaders had no knowledge Ransdell was a danger to children. Ransdell also had no criminal history, Knowles said.

“There was no cover-up,” Knowles said. “We’re disappointed in the jury’s verdict. The church certainly didn’t authorize such conduct by its youth pastor.”

Ransdell, now in his early 50s, lives in Oklahoma. He testified in a video deposition that he hadn’t abused W.S.B.

Although a civil jury determined Ransdell did molest W.S.B., he has never been convicted of that in criminal court. The statute of limitations for such a prosecution has long passed.

Ransdell, however, was convicted in 1992 of third-degree sexual abuse of a 17-year-old boy who was a member of Corbett Community Church. That conviction came in the year after W.S.B. was allegedly abused.

In 1992, Ransdell resigned as youth pastor, after reading a letter to the congregation announcing that he had “a personal sexual problem which is wrong and prohibits me from being effective in working with young people.” The letter was entered into evidence during W.S.B.’s civil trial.

-- Aimee Green