By Martha Deller
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
March 7, 2006
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14037227.htm
FORT WORTH -- Former church pastor Larry Nuell Neathery was convicted Monday of 25 felony charges involving sexual assault or molestation of five boys -- two neighbors and three relatives -- in his Fort Worth home and church.
A Tarrant County jury took barely an hour to find Neathery guilty on each count, including 13 aggravated sexual assault convictions that could send the 56-year-old man to prison for life. The nine-man, three-woman jury also convicted him of seven counts of indecency by sexual contact; two sexual-performance counts that carry 20-year maximum prison terms; and two counts of indecency by exposure and one count of attempted sexual assault, which have 10-year maximum prison terms.
Neathery, former pastor of Westside Victory Baptist Church near River Oaks, stood stoically late Monday afternoon as Judge Mike Thomas began reading the verdicts in Criminal District Court No. 4.
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| Larry Nuell Neathery |
As Thomas began reading the last six-count verdict, convicting him of molesting a young grandson, Neathery bowed his head, hiding tears from most in the courtroom
"He's very down and depressed about the whole situation," defense attorney Leon Haley said. "I told him to keep believing in God."
Neathery's weeping wife, Mary Neathery, was comforted by relatives and a minister. She was allowed to visit briefly with Neathery before he returned to jail to await today's sentencing hearing where his attorneys will try to persuade jurors to grant him probation.
Some supporters of the boys appeared relieved by the verdict, but some who had ties to both Neathery and his victims had mixed emotions.
Neathery's daughter, whose sons were among the boys accusing her father, declined to comment.
But Neathery's brother broke down outside the courtroom. "I'm just sick and sad about this," Ray Neathery said. "I just think of all his victims. These children will have to heal now."
On the stand last week with the jury not in the room, Ray Neathery recalled how their father had abused the brothers. Jurors didn't hear Ray Neathery's testimony because prosecutors decided not to call him after defense attorneys objected during a Friday preview.
Defense attorneys Leon Haley and Roderick White and prosecutors Mitch Poe and Rebecca McIntire painted diametrically opposite portraits of Neathery's young accusers during closing arguments on Monday.
White compared Neathery's prosecution to "the Salem witch trials," the 1692 episode in which more than a dozen people in Massachusetts were executed based on unfounded accusations.
White said child molestation accusations have become the 21st-century equivalent of the witch trials, with juries being asked to convict people based on the word of children.
"How can you prove you didn't do these things to children?" he said. "Sure, we should protect our children, but there is nothing else Larry can do except hope somebody scrutinizes it, takes a closer look. The easiest thing to do is to hang a witch. The difficult thing is to put that fear aside, examine it, don't go on another witch hunt."
Haley was even more blunt.
"The kids are lying. It's as simple as that," he said.
Haley expressed disbelief that the youngest boy would not have told someone about the abuse or that parents would not have noticed signs of abuse on their children.
"The younger children are, the quicker they are to tell someone," Haley said. "And don't tell me a mama is not going to see her baby is hurt. The problem is, we don't want to associate with someone who might be a sex offender. You need to find this man not guilty."
But Poe said Neathery carefully chose his victims.
"This man was good at judging people," he said. "These charges represent years of sexual deviancy by this defendant on these little boys."
Children related to Neathery by blood, marriage or their parents' friendship were even more afraid to report their abuse, she said.
"These kids were trapped in a nightmare with a man who wrapped himself in the cloak of a minister with his perversions," McIntire said.
Jurors are scheduled to resume the sentencing phase of the trial at 8:45 this morning.
Martha Deller, (817) 390-7857 mdeller@star-telegram.com
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