Jury Awards $124M to Sisters Who Claim Abuse From Pastor
The verdict comes after a partial settlement gave the women church property
A jury says a Fort Worth pastor is liable for $124 million in damages in a sexual assault civil case—following a settlement that included giving the church property to his victims.
In 2017, police arrested and indicted Jose Francisco Bernal for allegedly sexually assaulting two girls in his church’s youth department at Tabernaculo de Vida-Iglesia (Tabernacle of Life) Pentecostal Church. The women, sisters who are now adults, claim Bernal repeatedly sexually assaulted them since they were as young as 7 years old.
The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the trial’s progress until September 2022. Prosecutors dismissed the charges after the trial ended in a mistrial after the jury deliberated over 10 hours and could not reach a verdict.
But two years after Bernal’s arrest on June 4, 2019, one of the women filed a separate lawsuit against Bernal through the Tarrant County District Court.
The litigation also experienced pandemic-related delays but continued with allegations that Bernal had sexually abused the girl and her sister over many years.
The survivors also named two churches in their lawsuit: Bernal’s Tabernaculo de Vida-Iglesia in Fort Worth and Tabernaculo de Vida in Dallas. Both churches are part of United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), and the Fort Worth location is the daughter church of the Dallas church.
In 2023, the churches settled by agreeing to pay $100,000 and transferring ownership of the Fort Worth church property to the women. The conclusion awarded a property lot on the corner, the sanctuary and offices, and a separate home where the church held Sunday School classes. The sisters will also benefit from any eventual sale of the property. The $100,000 comes from an insurance policy held by the church.
The settlement caused a partial dismissal of the case against the two churches, and the portion of the lawsuit against Bernal proceeded in court. In that separate filing against Bernal, after only a few hours of deliberation, a jury determined Bernal had abused the women while they were children.
On March 12, 2025, the jury awarded the women $124 million in damages, including $93 million in exemplary damages, $11 million for past mental anguish, and $20 million for potential future mental anguish.
However, it is unclear how much of that they can actually collect from Bernal.
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Bernal’s attorney, Brandon Weaver, told WFAA that Bernal has always denied the allegations. “We are certainly disappointed with the jury’s verdict, and we are reviewing our legal options moving forward at this point,” Weaver said.
Attorneys representing the two women said they believe additional victims may exist and encouraged anyone with information to come forward.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on sex crimes? These stories are tough to read and sometimes even tougher to report, but we think they are vital to our mission to bring transparency, accountability, and credibility to the evangelical church. To read more about why and how we report these stories, read “Why MinistryWatch Reports On Sex Crimes.” You can find that story here.
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