Lalo victim appeals abuse settlement

A victim of Cesar Lalo, a notorious child abuser in Nova Scotia,  is appealing his $375,000 settlement.

The 37-year-old man, who can only be identified by the initials L.M.M., claims the amount he was awarded last year is too low.

But the province — Lalo's former employer — plans to argue that the amount L.M.M. received is too high.

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has set aside two days in April to hear arguments from the two sides.

Lalo was convicted of sexually assaulting 29 boys from 1973 to 1989 while working as a probation officer and social worker in the province.

He was released on parole in September 2009 after serving five years of a nine-year prison sentence.

L.M.M. was eight years old when he met Lalo. He said the abuse began when he was 13.

'Horribly disappointed'

In February 2010, Supreme Court Justice Heather Robertson ruled he was entitled to $250,000 to cover past and future lost income, and an additional $125,000 in general damages.

L.M.M. said he was "horribly disappointed" and that it was the same amount the government had offered him.

He compared his settlement to the $640,000 awarded to B.M.G., the first Lalo victim to win a settlement of his nature.

B.M.G. was sexually abused four times over three months.

Nine other victims have settled their cases with the province without going to court. The amount of those settlements was not disclosed.