TEXAS
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Bob Campbell
Staff Writer
Midland Reporter-Telegram
12/09/2005
District Judge George Gilles has set arguments for 10 a.m. Dec. 16 on pre-trial motions in a sexual abuse lawsuit against former Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church Rev. Domingo Gonzalez Estrada, the Catholic Diocese and bishop of San Angelo.
Filed in 142nd District Court by Dallas attorney Lori Watson, the lawsuit alleges the now 64-year-old priest molested a now 22-year-old Midland man genitally and anally six times from 1989-93. Unspecified damages are sought.
Estrada, who is still a priest in the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate order and living in the San Antonio area, was tried on six felony charges and acquitted on all counts Dec. 2, 2004, by a 238th District Court jury.
"The judge will be hearing two motions for summary judgment and a motion to complete the interrogatory," Watson's legal assistant told the Reporter-Telegram Thursday afternoon. "We will also get a scheduling order."
She explained that a scheduling order will outline the steps leading to a trial.
When asked if Estrada's criminal acquittals will make a civil settlement more difficult to win, Watson's spokeswoman said Watson, a partner in the Windle Turley Law Offices firm, will not comment on that issue before trial.