PENSACOLA, Fla. (OCTOBER 24, 2022) — Zarzaur Law, P.A., a catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death law firm based in Pensacola, Florida, announced today that the firm’s senior partner and founder, Joe Zarzaur, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a minor plaintiff in Santa Rosa County against Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church, Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, Pastor Dan Morris, Executive Pastor Kenneth York, and Youth Pastor Ryan Walsh.
The suit alleges that Zarzaur Law’s minor client was sent explicit messages on church devices and ultimately sexually assaulted by its Youth Pastor Ryan Walsh. This conduct occurred between October 2019 and February 2020. This month youth Pastor Ryan Walsh pled guilty to lewd and lascivious battery, using a computer to facilitate or solicit the sexual conduct of a child, and giving obscene material to a minor, and was sentenced by Judge Clifton Drake to 15 years in a state penitentiary.
The lawsuit alleges that Church and Conference officials negligently hired, trained, and supervised the Youth Pastor and violated its own policies and procedures. The suit alleges that these actions allowed the Youth Pastor to have access to youth in the church community and it permitted him to use all forms of social media (many times on church devices) to communicate with minor children. The suit describes the disgusting conduct of the youth pastor, including his explicit text messages between himself and the 13-year-old victim.
Joe Zarzaur is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and has obtained record jury verdicts in both Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. He and his firm have recovered more than 4 hundred million dollars for clients over the firm’s 25 years. The firm prides itself in only having Board Certified Civil Trial lawyers as lead lawyers on cases. Only about 1% of Florida lawyers are board certified in civil trial. A majority of the lawyers at Zarzaur Law have this certification. Mr. Zarzaur is also rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell and earned the status as a Florida Super Lawyer® for several years.
Download The Complaint Here >Final Complaint
———————————
###
About Zarzaur Law, P.A.
Joe Zarzaur is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney whose firm is dedicated to promoting community safety since 2007. OUR AREAS OF PRACTICE: Serious Personal Injury, Product Defect, Auto Accidents, Cycling Accidents, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Products Liability, Wrongful Death, Boat and Jet Ski Accidents, Slip and Fall Injuries, and more. Licensed in Alabama and Florida. www.zarzaurlaw.com
Offices in Pensacola, Destin, and Miami