Alexa Curtin’s $2.25 Million Award In Rape Case Could Be Reduced To $480K

Sandra Hutchens, the OC Sheriff who kept a police officer on duty after he was accused of raping Alexa Curtin, daughter of former Real Housewives of Orange County star Lynne Curtin is now asking for Alexa's award to be reduced.

According to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail reveal that Hutchens has filed a motion asking to cut the County's legal bill of more than $2.1 million in down to $480,840.

Hutchens claims the attorneys overcharged taxpayers, but Curtin's lawyers have slammed the demands as 'baseless' saying the the motion "fails to offer any specific argument as to how the County arrived at that number."

The County apparently hired a 'fee auditor' to inspect the billing sheets and rates requested by Curtin.

The court filing comes a month after the 24-year-old was awarded $2.25 million in damages - in addition to the legal fees - after she was allegedly raped by sheriff's deputy Nicholas Caropino in April 2014.

If successful, it would mean Curtin could lose more than two-thirds of her award as she may be on the hook to pay the extra $1.62 million, reports the publication.

Curtin’s lawsuit alleged that in April 2014, sheriff’s deputies came to the home of Curtin’s then-boyfriend after the couple got into an argument. According to the lawsuit, Caropino drove Curtin to her car, which was parked nearby. Once there, the deputy made inappropriate comments about her underwear, which he found in her car, and ordered her to stay put. She alleged he then returned to the scene, in his vehicle and out of uniform, got into the passenger seat of her car, and raped her. Curtin was 22 at the time, reports OC Register.

NOTE: The following story contains graphic details of the events of the traffic stop in question.

The deputy allegedly told Curtin to disrobe, which she did because she "feared for her own safety," the lawsuit alleges.

The deputy groped her while commenting on her anatomy, then pulled his pants down and ordered her "to straddle him," the lawsuit alleges.

"While in this position, the deputy had non-consensual sexual intercourse with plaintiff," the lawsuit alleges.

After the deputy completed the sex act, he asked Curtin for her cell phone number before leaving "so he could text her and in order to do this again," according to the lawsuit. "Still afraid, Curtin gave the deputy a wrong number."

Curtin "was violated, traumatized, emotionally drained, in shock, and fearing for her own safety," the lawsuit states." Specifically, plaintiff feared that given the deputy's position, he would find her and harm her again."

Two months prior, in February 2014, a then 18-year-old San Juan Capistrano woman made similar accusations against Caropino, alleging the deputy came to her home following her release from jail in September 2013 and sexually assaulted her there.

The deputy was never charged with rape and was fired 16 months after Curtin's allegations were made, reports the publication.

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