Jury clears mega-pastor's wife of assault
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas jury on Thursday cleared the wife of television preacher and best-selling author Joel Osteen of civil charges she assaulted a flight attendant.
Sharon Brown, a Continental Airlines Inc flight attendant, filed a lawsuit accusing Victoria Osteen of shoving her against an airplane bathroom door and elbowing her in the breast after she failed to clean up a spill on Osteen's first-class seat.
"No matter what happened, I knew the truth was in me, and that was the most important thing," Victoria Osteen told reporters after the verdict was read.
The plaintiff left the courtroom smiling but without comment. Her lawyer said she was glad her case was heard.
The verdict, reached after five days of trial and less than three hours of deliberation, was unanimous.
Brown said the verbal and physical attack by Osteen -- the impeccably dressed charismatic blonde who plays a major role in her husband's Lakewood Church -- caused stress, depression and led her to question her faith.
The flight attendant sought an apology from Osteen and initially sought 10 percent of her net worth as damages. She later testified she would leave it up to the jury to determine what was fair.
The Federal Aviation Administration fined Osteen $3,000 for the incident, which occurred prior to takeoff of a December 2005 flight from Houston Intercontinental Airport to Vail, Colorado.
Lakewood, a "mega-church" that claims more than 35,000 worshipers each week, hold its services in a former professional basketball arena that the church spent millions of dollars to convert into a worship center.
Joel Osteen's televised sermons are broadcast in nearly 200 million U.S. households and in more than 100 countries, including India, Australia and Africa.
(Reporting by Anna Driver and Bruce Nichols in Houston; Editing by Bill Trott)
