FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By MARTHA DELLER
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH — The trial of a 56-year-old Fort Worth man accused of molesting at least five boys while he was pastor of the Westside Victory Baptist Church began Tuesday in Tarrant County’s Criminal District Court No. 4.
Larry Nuell Neathery firmly answered not guilty Tuesday morning as prosecutor Mitch Poe read five multi-county indictments accusing the former pastor of committing felony sexual assault against five boys, including three of his grandsons and two neighbors, over a six-year period.
In opening statements, prosecutor Rebecca McIntire described how Neathery "groomed" boys who had either absent or ill fathers, gradually enticing them into relationships where he molested them in his church office and his home. He then swore them to secrecy, she said.
"He wrapped himself in the cloak of the church," McIntire said, leading the boys to believe that church members would side with him if they accused him of molesting them.