SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A civil lawsuit against a Roman Catholic priest set to appear in court this week on criminal charges of soliciting a hit man to kill his teenage accuser has been settled for nearly $1 million.
John Fiala was a priest in the West Texas community of Rocksprings when he allegedly molested a then-16-year-old boy starting in 2007. The Archdiocese of San Antonio announced last week that it had settled a lawsuit brought by the youth for $946,000.
In November, the 52-year-old Fiala was arrested near Dallas on charges of trying to hire someone to kill his accuser. He's charged with one count of solicitation of capital murder.
Fiala had a Dallas County court appearance scheduled for Thursday.
Rex Gunter, Fiala's attorney, did not immediately return a phone message Tuesday.
