Seven women who alleged they were sexually abused as children by former Christian ministry tycoon Tony Alamo were awarded $525 million by an Arkansas judge this week after an Alamo church failed to respond to a lawsuit.
Collecting the largest judgment in Arkansas history, according to one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, will likely require some help from a Los Angeles court, though. Texas attorney David Carter said he would "soon" file paperwork asking that a court here sell at least two Santa Clarita Valley properties connected to Alamo's operation.
"We're optimistic we can get a sale done this calendar year," Carter told the Los Angeles Times. "We're obviously satisfied with the court's damages finding, but at the same time there's no amount of money that will wash away the damage inflicted upon these women."
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Alamo, 79, has been serving a 175-year prison sentence in Tucson after being convicted in 2009 on 10 counts of sex trafficking minors. Attorney Rogers is appealing the conviction on the grounds that a previous lawyer botched the case.
During the 1960s, Alamo and his wife, Susan, founded a Christian organization in Los Angeles. They bused school dropouts and drug users into their shelters and provided food and anti-Catholic, anti-government religious lectures. The street preaching became a multimillion-dollar empire through a television show, events and merchandise cheaply manufactured by their adherents.
After years of evading arrest, Alamo served four years in prison during the 1990s for not paying about $10 million in federal taxes. His ultimate downfall came in 2008.
Tony Alamo victims awarded $525 million; L.A. properties may be sold - latimes.com
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