SEXUAL ABUSE Judge, lawyers will review settlement

The case is one of the most serious of its kind to hit a Protestant denomination.
MARSHALL, Texas (AP) -- Attorneys prepared to meet with an East Texas judge to review a proposed settlement involving most defendants in a sexual-abuse lawsuit against the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and related agencies.
None of the involved parties, including an Ohio seminary, would reveal details of the settlement or how much the plaintiffs might be paid, pending approval of the deal by Harrison County District Judge Bonnie Leggat, who was to consider the plan today.
Fourteen reported victims and their families accused Lutheran officials of ignoring questionable behavior by former pastor Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr., who was sentenced last year to 397 years in state prison for sexually assaulting boys.
Church officials repeatedly denied negligence, despite private memos that detailed allegations against Thomas before his assignment to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Marshall in 1997.
Reminiscent of complaints against the Roman Catholic hierarchy in recent years, the Thomas case is one of the most serious abuse lawsuits to hit a U.S. Protestant denomination. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has 5 million members.
Included in settlement
The settlement announced last week includes the Chicago-based denomination; the Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, which Thomas attended; a candidacy committee in Michigan and the Marshall congregation where Thomas was pastor from 1997 to 2001.
A jury of eight men and four women was selected last week before the settlement was confirmed.
The trial is expected to proceed against the denomination's Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, which was not a part of the settlement. Opening statements are set for Tuesday.
Thomas, 41, was charged in 2001 after a teenager found nude images of friends on the pastor's computer and tried to blackmail him.
Convicted on federal child-pornography charges, he is serving five years at the U.S. Penitentiary in Beaumont. His state sentence will start after that.