Speaking after the jury's finding against former Roanoke Sheriff George McMillan and the Roanoke Sheriff's Office, attorney Terry Grimes called his client Lespia King "a very brave woman" and said her sexual harassment lawsuit was "about justice from Day 1."

McMillan and his attorney had nothing to say after the jury's decision, nor did Sheriff Octavia Johnson, who was named in the lawsuit as a representative of the sheriff's office but was accused of no personal wrong-doing.

John Gibney, who represented the sheriff's office, said Johnson was disappointed. He said he planned to file post-trial motions to set aside the jury's decision and, if necessary, an appeal.

On the witness stand today for a third time in the case, McMillan had insisted the case was politically motivated. It was filed just before the 2005 sheriff's election that he lost to Johnson, who like McMillan was a long-time officer in the department.

With the jury's decision made, Grimes said the lawsuit was not political at all. It was motivated by "horrendous conduct from the sheriff over a period of time," he said. "He thought he was God, he was above the law. The jury proved him wrong."

Roanoke City Attorney Bill Hackworth said that while he's not involved in the case, it's his understanding that the sheriff's office has state-provided insurance that will cover both the office's and McMillan's own personal liability. That insurance will be responsible for paying the judgements.

A federal jury has awarded Lespia King $325,000 in damages.

The breakdown:

* $50,000 compensatory damages from the Roanoke Sheriff’s Office on King’s sexual harassment claim

* $175,000 compensatory damages from former Sheriff George McMillan on King’s assault and battery claim

* $100,000 punitive damages from McMillan on the assault and battery claim

The jury has gone back to consider how much money to award Lespia King.

No dollar figure has been mentioned in court filings or in instructions to jurors. It is being left entirely up to the jury to set an amount.

U.S. District Judge Samuel Wilson and attorneys told the jury that King is due compensatory damages on her claims against McMillan and the sheriff’s office. The jury also may decide to award punitive damages in the complaint against McMillan.

Terry Grimes, King’s attorney, urged the jury to set a sum big enough to restore what King lost: “her dignity, her self-esteem, her self-worth -- her youth, to some degree, I suppose.”

King, 29, took the stand to say she still dreams of McMillan’s hands touching her.

“I had this image of myself as a tough young woman capable of doing anything, and yet I couldn’t even tell him, ‘No, don’t touch me,'" she said.

McMillan was called back to the stand, where he admitted that after he lost the election in 2005, shortly after King’s lawsuit was filed, he talked to Roanoke County Sheriff Gerald Holt, who was King’s new employer. “I told him he better watch out -- she’s liable to do the same thing to him,” McMillan said.

Grimes called this statement evidence of malice that warranted punitive damages.

McMillan said Holt had just called to express condolences on the outcome of the election. “I believe this whole thing was basically a politically motivated thing,” McMillan said. “I still do.”

Elizabeth Dillon, who is representing McMillan, told jurors they should award an amount of money no greater than whatever actual loss King suffered. Repeating a theme she voiced frequently earlier in the case, Dillon said that since King never told McMillan his attention was unwelcome, he should not be punished. Losing the election was punishment enough, Dillon said.

John Gibney, attorney for the sheriff’s office, noted that King had presented no medical bills and no lost wages, and that she appeared to have a good job and be in a good relationship.

He told jurors that now is a time “for justice and compensation, not enrichment.”

A federal jury has found for plaintiff Lespia King in her lawsuit against former Roanoke Sheriff George McMillan and the Roanoke Sheriff’s Office.

The jury of seven women and one man now will hear testimony from several more witnesses and additional statements from attorneys before deciding what damages to award King.

After hearing two days of testimony, the jury is deliberating this morning in the civil lawsuit against former Roanoke Sheriff George McMillan and the Roanoke Sheriff's Office.

In 2005, former Deputy Lespia King filed a suit claiming that McMillan inappropriately touched and talked to her. The suit includes an assault and battery claim against McMillan and a sexual harassment claim against the sheriff’s office.

Over the past two days, King and nine other current and former employees of the sheriff’s office and a jail contractor testified that McMillan made suggestive comments to them and touched them inappropriately, including kissing them and hugging them while touching their buttocks or breasts. McMillan, in turn, testified that the 10 women were making up their claims, and that he never acted inappropriately toward them.

McMillan’s attorney said that even if jurors believe King’s version of events, her failure to protest the sheriff’s advances amounted to consent. The attorney representing the sheriff’s office said any actions committed by McMillan should not be blamed on the institution.