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	Orlando Diocese Settles Case of Priest Accused of Stalking By Linda Shrieves Orlando Sentinel April 8, 2010 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-sex-church-settlement-20100408,0,6097317.story The Catholic Diocese of Orlando has agreed to pay a former Lakeland resident an undisclosed amount of money after she sued the diocese, saying that a senior pastor ignored her pleas about a priest who stalked and sexually harassed her. Wladyslaw Gorak, a Polish-born priest who changed his name to Walter Fisher, was arrested in 2005 and charged with burglary with assault, false imprisonment, aggravated stalking and battery. When the case went to trial in 2007, Gorak pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years probation and ordered to undergo counseling. In the lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County Circuit Court in 2006, the woman, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, said that Gorak broke into her house, overpowered her and ripped off her clothes before she escaped. Gorak was ordained in Poland and began working as priest in Newark, N.J., in 1998. He was transferred to Central Florida in late 2003 from the Archdiocese of Newark. Jane Doe's attorney, Adam Horowitz, said that documents and depositions obtained in the case showed that other priests and church employees in Newark had raised concerns about Gorak and his behavior toward women, yet an archdiocese official wrote a sworn affidavit to Orlando diocese officials that Gorak was fit for the ministry. In a deposition, that official testified that he never reviewed Gorak's file. "The Archdiocese of Newark sent Orlando what was essentially a bill of good health, which was utterly false. They misrepresented the facts to the Diocese of Orlando," Horowitz said. But Horowitz faulted the Diocese of Orlando for not taking immediate action when his client complained that Gorak was stalking her. According to the lawsuit, the victim repeatedly complained about Gorak to the senior pastor at the Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Lakeland. The pastor, the Rev. Matthew Mello, assured her he would take action, but the stalking continued and the assault occurred in October 2004, the lawsuit said. "It went unaddressed until Father Mello himself felt unsafe and sought an injunction against Father Gorak because Gorak had sent Father Mello a threatening message," Horowitz said. Polk County court records show that Mello requested an injunction against Gorak in April 2005, but the issue never went to court. Gorak was arrested by Lakeland police on May 17, 2005. Carol Brinati, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Orlando, said that Gorak worked for the diocese for "most of 2004" and that diocese officials conducted a state of Florida and FBI national background check on Gorak before his move here. "We did not receive any other complaints about the priest prior to his arrival in the Diocese of Orlando," Brinati said. In December 2004, two months after Doe says that Gorak broke into her house and assaulted her, diocese officials removed Gorak from the ministry. The diocese reported his removal to the Archdiocese of Newark, Brinati said. Gorak is now living in Lakeland and serving probation, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. The victim is now living in Ireland, her attorney said. Linda Shrieves can be reached at lshrieves@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5433.
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