A Texas oil heir was ordered to pay $1.1 billion to the young child he violently beat to near death and left bedridden in a wheelchair, needing 24-hour care, in a landmark ruling.
Charles Brooks Jr will have to pay the hefty fee after a jury ruled in favor of Madison Ball, his ex-wife, and Stephen Sampson, whose son suffered a severe brain injury at the hands of the now 34-year-old felon, Buzbee Law Firm, the law group representing the parents said Thursday.
Brooks, the great-grandson of Humble Oil founding investor Percy Turner, is already serving 40 years in a Texas jail for the heinous assault on his stepson, whom he was asked to babysit while his wife was working.
The gargantuan payout is the total of $291 million in compensatory damages and $810 million in punitive damages, according to court records viewed by The Post.
The boy, now 7, was awarded $800 million — in addition to all of the compensatory damages — and his parents will receive $5 million each.
It is the largest verdict in US history for the assault of a child.
In the civil lawsuit filed by Ball on behalf of her son, Brooks was tasked with watching the then 2-year-old while his mother was at work on April 22, 2021.
He called Ball hours later, claiming the boy was “non-responsive” after falling off a kitchen table while in Dallas visiting Brooks’ grandmother.
In a frightening back-and-forth ordeal, Ball demanded to see her child over a FaceTime call where she witnessed her toddler “barely breathing” while her then-husband ignored her pleas to call 911, according to court documents viewed by The Post.
Brooks played down the severity of the child’s injuries, insisting he would “sleep it off” and had already been thrown into an ice bath to be revived.
He also threatened his wife that he would “snap her neck” and “f–king kill her” if she called 911.
Ball ignored the threats and called 911 for her son.
First responders arrived and discovered that the toddler was severely beaten, unresponsive and had adult bite marks on his legs.
The child sustained “a traumatic brain injury, chronic respiratory failure, seizure disorder, urethral trauma, and traumatic hemorrhage of bilateral retina,” according to the records.
Ball’s son will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life, has a tracheostomy tube, is bedridden, cannot walk and cannot survive more than a couple of hours without a breathing machine due to the severity of his injuries.
“(The child’s) life is a fraction of what it once was, and he will never grow into the strong, healthy, happy boy he should of because of Brooks’ terrible, violent, horrific behavior,” the original court petition read.
A years-long court battle took place before a jury reached its verdict on Thursday.
“We claim to value children in our society. This Texas jury stepped up and showed that. Don’t mess with Texas children,” lawyer Tony Buzbee said. “I hope that through this verdict this precious child gets all the care he will need and hopefully make his life as good as it can be made under the circumstances.”
Lawyers for Ball and the boy argued Brooks was a career criminal with prior arrests for theft, aggravated robbery, gun charges and drug possession.
After he nearly killed the child, Brooks was released on bond before he cut off his ankle monitor and attempted to flee. He was later found at a sports bar in South Texas.
He is currently booked in the San Saba County Jail, serving a 40-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a child causing serious bodily harm.
Brooks is up for parole in 2042, with his projected release date on Jan. 30, 2062, when he is 70.
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