YOUNGSTOWN — Jessica Shobel, who was awarded a judgment of $30,050 Thursday following a Jan. 20 civil trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court involving her claims of sexual abuse, said in an email that the amount of the judgment “does not feel proportional to the harm I endured, though I’m not sure any amount ever could.”

Magistrate Dennis Sarisky ruled Thursday to award Shobel $50 in compensatory damages and $30,000 in noneconomic damages.

Shobel stated the amount of money awarded “is not justice in the fullest sense; however, the judgment does represent accountability and allows me to cover therapy and recover the costs associated with pursuing this case.”

She added, “In a system where acknowledgement and responsibility can be difficult to obtain for abuse victims, it is a meaningful win.” She thanked her attorney and stated: “I hope that this gives other a searching for justice some hope in knowing that they aren’t alone.”

Shobel filed a lawsuit in 2022 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against her stepfather, Tommy Christmas, alleging that Christmas, of Boardman, “began to have inappropriate sexual contact” with Shobel around 2003 when she was 7 or 8 years old.” The conduct progressed from there, the documents state.

Christmas denied the sexual abuse allegations in the lawsuit, stating that Shobel’s claims were brought in bad faith in an attempt to damage him.

Shobel sought damages of more than $125,000 for alleged childhood sexual abuse and intentional infliction of emotional distress, pain and suffering. The matter went to a one-day jury trial Jan. 20 in the courtroom of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney, for whom Sarisky works.

Sarisky ruled Jan. 21 in favor of a motion filed by Shobel’s attorney, Kevin Daley, at the end of the trial for the magistrate to issue a “directed verdict” in Shobel’s favor. Sarisky ruled on the damages later.

Christmas was part of the reality TV show “Fat N’ Furious Rolling Thunder,” which was filmed in the Mahoning Valley and elsewhere in the 2014-15 time period.

Late Thursday, after the magistrate’s decision was released, Louis Katz, one of Christmas’ attorneys, filed a motion asking Sarisky to make “findings of fact and conclusions of law as to how the amount of damages awarded in this case was arrived at and the evidence that was presented in this case that is the basis of the award.”

On Friday, Sarisky filed an order requiring the defense and plaintiff attorneys to file “proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law within 30 days.”

The parties were advised on Thursday that they had 14 days to file any written objections to the damages he awarded to Shobel.

A call to Christmas Friday was answered by his wife. She was asked if Christmas wanted to comment on the magistrate’s rulings and the damages to Shobel. She said she thought he did, but the call was not returned.