ST. CLOUD (AP) -- A Cold Spring man who was molested decades ago by the man who went on to abduct, sexually assault and kill Jacob Wetterling has been awarded more than $17 million.

Jared Scheierl was 12 when he was molested by Danny Heinrich in 1989 in Cold Spring.

In 2016, Heinrich admitted to sexually assaulting Scheierl and to abducting, molesting and killing Jacob as part of a plea deal in a federal child pornography case.

Scheierl sued Heinrich. Stearns County Judge Andrew Pearson awarded Scheierl damages on Thursday, writing that ``a human life is worth more than all the treasures of the world.''

The Associated Press doesn't routinely identify victims of sexual abuse, but Scheierl has spoken publicly.

Heinrich is in prison and it's unlikely he'll be able to pay the damages.

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