Ralph Douglass West II, a prominent Houston pastor, was found guilty of transmitting herpes to a woman he met on Facebook and had unprotected sex with five years ago.
West II — an assistant pastor at Houston’s The Church Without Walls — was ordered to pay the unidentified plaintiff $2.45 million after he was found guilty of infecting the woman with herpes on Oct. 12.
Under the hefty court order, West II will have to shell out $1,450,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000,000 punitive damages to the plaintiff, Fox 26 Houston noted.
The pastor, listed as a minister of the church’s Eldridge Campus, was also found guilty of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraudulent concealment after he avoided disclosure of the sexually-transmitted ailment. A Houston jury handed down the verdict following an intense three-day trial and six hours of deliberation.
What happened to the plaintiff?
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Shaun Murphy, claimed she contracted herpes a few days after meeting West II on Facebook.
“She got an outbreak two or three days later and then went and got tested. From there, through the medical records, we were able to identify that he was the source of it, in part because she hadn’t been with anybody else. She had a prior negative test,” Murphy told Click2Houston.
Additionally, the legal aid obtained emails that captured the pastor discussing his infection status with the plaintiff after he engaged in unprotected sex with the woman in March 2018.
“He never once denied that he had it or that he knew he had it,” Murphy alleged.
According to the lawyer, West II allegedly admitted that he contracted the disease from “his son’s mother.”
In a statement to Fox 26 Houston, Murphy said he hoped the verdict sent “a strong message to people throughout Texas and the United States” infected with an STD that disclosure is imperative.
“They must disclose having the disease before engaging in sexual intercourse with any others. It is also important for those who have suffered harm after being infected due to another’s negligent or intentional conduct to know they have a legal remedy.”
West II leads the Church Without Walls alongside his father, Ralph Douglass West Senior.
Founded in 1997 by West Senior, the church boasts over 20,000 members and has three locations across Houston.
The church’s website lists salvation as a core principle of the Houston-based establishment’s religious practice.
“We believe in God’s saving grace; that the blessings of salvation are free to all through the Gospel; that the requisite of acceptance is a thankful, penitent and obedient faith; that nothing interferes with the salvation of the sinner except his refusal of the Gospel,” the Church Without Walls states.
“Man’s disbelief is his condemnation.”
RELATED CONTENT: DEAR ASHLEY: Is There A Sex Life After A Herpes Diagnosis?
