DALLAS, April 23 (UPI) -- A Texas jury has recommended that a Dallas-based Lutheran synod pay $36 million to nine victims of a sexually abusive minister.
The jury decided Thursday supervisors at the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America allowed the minister to be assigned to the church in Marshall, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The lawsuit revolved around Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr., who took over the East Texas church in 1997. He was arrested in 2001 on child pornography charges and sentenced to prison.
"We grieve for and continue to pray for the victims and their families," synod Bishop Kevin S. Kanouse said. "We trust and hope that the compensation award the victims will provide them and their families support, care and the opportunity to heal their anguish."
The verdict involved only the Dallas synod. Earlier, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, and other defendants reached a $32 million settlement, lawyers told The News.
