Who pays Jane Doe 1 in police department lawsuit?

The financial settlement going to Jane Doe 1 in exchange for dropping a lawsuit against the Horry County Police Department alleging sexual assault won’t be paid directly by taxpayers, but through the county’s liability insurance fund.

That doesn’t mean taxpayers are off the hook for the cost, because the county pays a hefty annual premium to participate in the S.C. Insurance Reserve Fund.

The premium for the current fiscal year is more than $535,000, said Lisa Bourcier, Horry County spokeswoman.

The amount offered by the county to settle the state and federal claims was not made public by lawyers for Jane Doe 1, who declined to do so at their client’s request.

County officials are also mum on the amount.

“The terms of any settlement arrived at will remain confidential per the settlement,” Bourcier said.

According to a lawyer familiar with the insurance reserve fund, there is a cap on payouts to individuals of $300,000.

A spokeswoman for the insurance reserve did not return a call for comment on the settlement.

The settlement came after the jury pool was called and trial set to begin Tuesday in the case alleging that a now-former detective sexually assaulted the woman whose rape case he was assigned to investigate.

In addition to Jane Doe 1, four other women have also filed civil lawsuits against the county with similar accusations of sexual assault or harassment by the former detective, Allen Large.

Large was indicted by a grand jury in September on five counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and six counts of misconduct in office.

No court dates have yet been set in the criminal or civil cases.

As to whether the Jane Doe 1 settlement will cause the county’s insurance premium to increase, Bourcier said they won’t know until later this year.

The state insurance reserve fund is an insurance pool paid into by governmental entities to protect more than $38 billion in public property, and also offers insurance protection in lawsuit payouts.