Baptists to Pay $12.5M in Florida Sex Abuse Case

A central Florida jury has awarded $12.5 million in damages to a young man who was sexually abused by a Baptist minister when he was a child.

But an attorney for the Florida Baptist Convention said on Tuesday that the organization would appeal the ruling from a jury in Lake County, northwest of Orlando.

Attorney Gary Yeldell says the convention is confidant an appellate court will overturn the ruling. He says the minister was an independent pastor and not suprevised by the convention.

The jury verdict was returned on Saturday.

An attorney for the man, who is remaining anonymous, says the jury understood the “devastating” impact of the abuse.

The young man is now in his 20s and attending college.