MORRISTOWN — The jury in a groundbreaking sexual assault trial spared the Delbarton School and the Catholic order that oversees it from a potentially devastating punitive damage award on Thursday, as the case against the exclusive Morris County prep school came to a close.

After almost five hours of deliberations over two days, the jury at the Morris County Courthouse decided unanimously on Oct. 16 against imposing damages on top of the $5 million compensatory award it granted last week to a Delbarton graduate who said he was abused in the 1970s.

The jury ruled last week in favor of the graduate, who said he has suffered trauma ever since he was assaulted as a 15-year-old by the Rev. Richard Lott, a former Delbarton teacher and maintenance director. His lawyers urged jurors to punish t

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