A Denver jury has awarded a former stripper $3.9 million in a sexual assault lawsuit against a wealthy Colorado rancher.

The judge presiding over the civil trial called the attack “indescribably brutal,” but in 2013 Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey chose to drop the original criminal charge to misdemeanor unlawful contact instead of felony sexual assault.

The victim, Amanda Wilson, and her attorney, Qusair Mohamedbhai, told The Denver Post the verdict announced late last week was a victory for other sexual assault victims. And they criticized the district attorney’s office for failing to prosecute her attacker on more serious charges for the February 2013 attack.

“I hope this verdict is empowering to any woman or person who has felt helpless and terrified at the hands of another,” Wilson, 30, wrote in an e-mail to The Post. “Rape destroys lives and it does matter, even when the criminal justice system brushes you off and prefers you to be quiet. You do matter.”

The case is unusual for many reasons, including its large verdict and because a jury took the word of a former exotic dancer over that of a respected businessman who had lavished her with gifts, money and a job, court observers said.

“There were a lot of hurdles for these plaintiff’s lawyers to overcome,”said Christina Habas, a Denver trial attorney and former judge who was not involved in the case. “They needed to motivate this jury in a way to act as a conscience of the community. You need to say we’re sending a clear message that this won’t be tolerated.”

In the attack, Jonathan Pauling, owner of Two Mile Ranch in Stoneham, chased the victim through her house, eventually forcing on her onto a kitchen table where he began sexually assaulting her, according to the original complaint and motions filed in the case.

The victim escaped and fled to her backyard, where she screamed for help before Pauling, 52, resumed his attack, documents included in the lawsuit said. Neighbors heard the commotion, broke through her backyard gate and pulled Pauling away.

Neighbors restrained him until Denver police arrived, the lawsuit documents said.

Wilson met Pauling in August 2012 when she was working as an exotic dancer in Denver. They began a romantic relationship, and Pauling began using tactics to exert his control over the woman and increase her dependency on him, the lawsuit said.

He lavished Wilson with gifts and offered to help her with an ongoing custody dispute in Michigan.

In October 2012, Pauling hired Wilson to work for his companies, all operating under the Two Mile Ranch umbrella. She eventually was promoted to creative director. He first paid cash but then formalized her employment through a contract, paying her $100,000 per year and giving her part ownership in a food market and land company and profit sharing in a meat processing company.

Wilson ended their romantic relationship, but Pauling continued to pursue her, the lawsuit documents said. He had even traveled to Michigan to testify during her custody case.

On the night of the attack, the two had just returned from Michigan and had purchased medical marijuana and planned to spend the day at her house.

After the attack, a medical exam found abrasions and bite marks on Wilson. Later, Pauling violated his restraining order after charges were filed.

Deputy District Attorney Isabel Pallares, the prosecutor assigned to the case, lowered Pauling’s charge from a felony sexual assault charge to a misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact charge in October 2013.

Efforts to reach Pauling and his attorney, Christopher Carr, were unsuccessful.

Lynn Kimbrough, the district attorney’s spokeswoman, said she did not know why the plea deal was offered because she had not been able to speak to the prosecutor on the case.

“I will say that the criminal system and the civil system are apples and oranges — so the civil judgment cannot be compared to the criminal outcome nor can it be used as a measure of any kind for the criminal outcome,” Kimbrough said in an e-mail. “But a criminal conviction in which he pleaded guilty helps in a subsequent civil matter, so his conviction, albeit a misdemeanor, may well have been a contributing factor in her success in the civil courts.”

During the trial, Wilson’s team called dozens of witnesses, including men who rescued her from the attack, Denver police officers who responded to the scene and another former female employee of Pauling’s who described similar aggressive and harassing behavior.

Wilson serves as a symbol of strength and courage to survivors of sexual assault and abuse, Mohamedbhai said. But the criminal justice system failed her, he said.

As part of its $3.9 million judgment, the jury awarded $2.25 million in punitive damages.

Mohamedbhai and Habas said to receive punitive damages in the case, Wilson’s team had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the attack happened. That’s the same standard criminal prosecutors are held to.

“The Denver District Attorney’s Office told Ms. Wilson that no one would believe her because of her status as a former exotic dancer. Meanwhile, all of the physical and eyewitness evidence overwhelmingly supported and corroborated Ms. Wilson’s allegations,” Mohamedbhai said in an e-mailed statement. “There could not have been a stronger case to prosecute and yet the Denver DA gave Ms. Wilson’s attacker nothing more than a slap on the wrist.”

However, Kimbrough disputed Mohamedbhai’s assertion that the case wasn’t taken seriously because of Wilson’s past occupation.

“The victim (and her attorney) were part of the discussions leading up to the negotiated plea and were well aware of the reasoning for the plea. It has nothing to do with her ‘former status’ as a dancer,” she said in an e-mail.

Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or @Noelle_Phillips