FLORIDA
Orlando Sentinel
July 1, 2012
By Ludmilla Lelis, Orlando Sentinel
TAVARES — A Lake County man recently won what is likely the first liability claim against the Florida Baptist Convention for a sex-abuse case.
But it will take a second trial to find out if he’ll win any compensation for damages suffered when his former minister, Douglas Myers, molested him.
A Lake County jury in May decided that the statewide Baptist group, which comprises nearly 3,000 congregations and 1 million members in Florida, was negligent for approving Myers to start new churches in Lake County.
Myers, now 63, is serving a seven-year prison sentence for molesting the lawsuit plaintiff when he was 13 years old.
The jury agreed with the plaintiff on nearly all the legal issues, including finding that the convention was negligent in selecting and supervising Myers, and finding the convention had a duty to protect the victim from harm.
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