Date: 05-05-2004

Case Style: Louie Guerrero v. Capital City Baptist Church

Case Number: Unknown

Judge: Unknown

Court: District Court, Travis County, Texas

Plaintiff's Attorney: Unknown

Defendant's Attorney: Unknown

Description: Louie Guerrero, age 11, was severely beaten with treat branches after he misbehave during a summer class at Capital City Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. Guerrero was hospitalized for five days in an intensive care unit in 2002. Guerrero, who spent five days in intensive care after the July 2002 beating, will receive more than $1 million of the settlement by the year 2022, according to court documents. They stated that Guerrero's mother, Norma Arellano, will receive $180,000 of the settlement amount. Attorneys for the boy's family and for the defendants declined to discuss the settlement Wednesday, saying the amount was supposed to be confidential. The settlement forbids the parties involved in the lawsuit from discussing it, they said. The boy's family initially had sued for $25 million. The case was settled April 8, according to court documents. In December, Joshua Thompson, a pastor at the Capitol City Baptist Church in South Austin, and his brother Caleb were convicted of aggravated assault and injury to a child for beating Guerrero. During the trial, the victim said the beating occurred after he was goofing off in Bible class at the South Austin church. The boy testified that Joshua Thompson took him to his home and beat him with two tree branches while Caleb Thompson held him down. A doctor testified that Guerrero had been struck hundreds of times. He was in danger of kidney failure while in the hospital but is now fully recovered. During the trial, defense attorneys argued that the Arellanos had asked Joshua Thompson to discipline their son, whom they characterized as difficult to control. But the Arellanos denied that claim. Joshua Thompson received 26 years in prison for injury to a child and 20 years for aggravated assault. Caleb Thompson received 14 years for injury to a child and 14 years for aggravated assault. Joshua Thompson will become eligible for parole after serving 13 years, while Caleb Thompson becomes eligible after serving seven years. Information from: Austin American-Statesman

Outcome: Settle for $1.180 million.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: None