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	Ex-Pastor Gets 3 Life Terms for Abusing Boys By Martha Deller mdeller@star-telegram.com Fort Worth Star-Telegram March 7, 2006 http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/14041529.htm FORT WORTH - Former River Oaks pastor Larry Nuell Neathery was sentenced to three life prison terms and 22 other lesser penalties Tuesday afternoon after a Tarrant County jury recommended the maximum penalties on all 25 charges involving the sexual abuse of five boys, including three young relatives, for six years. Rejecting defense pleas for leniency, the jury of nine men and three women deliberated more than three hours before recommending that Neathery serve three life sentences and 10 prison terms of 99 years on 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault. Aggravated sexual assault is a first-degree felony. The 13 counts involved three of his victims. Jurors also assessed 20-year prison terms on seven counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact and two counts of sexual performance by a child. Those charges are second-degree felonies involving three victims. Then the jury assessed 10-year prison terms on two charges of indecency with a child by exposure and one count of attempted sexual assault. Those crimes are third-degree felonies; the charges involved two boys. After releasing the jury, Judge Mike Thomas formally sentenced Neathery, who will serve the 25 terms concurrently. The 56-year-old defendant must serve at least 30 years of a life sentence before he is eligible for parole. Neathery, whose attorneys told jurors Tuesday he continues to maintain his innocence, quietly filled out paperwork to appeal his conviction as his wife tearfully hugged her daughter in the back of the courtroom.
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