Victoria Osteen cleared by jury

HOUSTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A Texas jury ruled for the wife of a mega-church pastor Thursday, refusing to award damages to a flight attendant who claims Victoria Osteen assaulted her.

Osteen, co-pastor of the Lakewood Church with her husband, Joel, hugged her lawyers after the verdict, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"Thank you, Jesus," she said.

Sharon Brown, a flight attendant with Continental Airlines, refused to comment on the decision. She embraced her sister and left the courtroom smiling.

In his closing argument, Brown's lawyer, Reginald McKamie, asked jurors to award her at least $405,000 for physical and emotional damage allegedly inflicted by the assault. Brown said that Osteen had a tantrum when she found something spilled on the armrest of a first-class seat occupied by a member of her family on a flight from Houston to Vail, Colo., in December 2005.

Lakewood Church in Houston, founded by Joel Osteen's parents in a former feed store, has about 40,000 people attending its services every week.