Jury Finds Pastor Liable In Rape
$2.25 Million Is Awarded To Accuser
May 27, 1998|By NICOLE STERGHOS and MARIAN DOZIER Staff Writers
A civil court jury awarded $2.25 million to a mentally disabled man on Tuesday, finding that a prominent Riviera Beach pastor raped him, and that his church and a deacon failed to investigate the charges.
The bombshell verdict, coming after 10 1/2 hours of deliberation over two days, capped an emotionally charged, three-week trial that was heavily attended by supporters of the Rev. Thomas Masters.
But it's not over yet.
The six jurors are to return on Thursday to determine how much Masters, the New Macedonia Baptist Church and Deacon Joseph Lawrence owe in punitive damages.