GARY (IN)
Post-Tribune
Jan. 13, 2005
By Frank Wiget / Post-Tribune staff writer
A Florida man filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming he was the victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest from the Gary Diocese.
The suit lists the plaintiff as “John Doe,” a now 29-year-old man who alleges he was sexually assaulted between 1986 and 1991 by the Rev. Richard Emerson, now 52. The alleged sexual abuse occurred when the victim was between ages 11 and 18.
Emerson, a Hammond native, was a visiting priest in Orlando at the time, before returning to Northwest Indiana in 1991.
In addition to Emerson, the lawsuit names and seeks damages from Bishop Dale J. Melczek of the Catholic Diocese of Gary and Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of the Diocese of Orlando.
The alleged victim was a resident of Orlando, Fla., in Orange County when the alleged abuse occurred.
Posted by kshaw at January 13, 2005 07:11 AM