Lawsuit Filed against Polk School Board, Mulberry Church in Molestation Case

By Jason Geary
The Ledger
September 4, 2013

http://www.theledger.com/article/20130904/NEWS/130909767

Ricardo A. Navarro, left, and Edward B. Demoreta have been named in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a girl who reported being molested at a Mulberry school and church. Demoreta was found guilty of two counts of sexual battery and one count of lewd battery earlier this year and sentenced to about 24 years in prison. Navarro never showed up for his trial and an arrest warrant was issued. The Polk County School Board and the First Assembly of God also are named in the suit.

The mother of a girl who reported being molested at a school and church has filed a lawsuit against the Polk County School Board and First Assembly of God in Mulberry.

The lawsuit was filed Aug. 23 in circuit court and is seeking damages on behalf of the girl.

The Ledger is not identifying the girl, in keeping with its policy of not identifying victims of sexual assaults in most cases.

She is referred to as "Jane Doe" in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit's allegations include that some instances of abuse took place at Mulberry Middle School in a classroom and at First Assembly of God in the parking lot and inside a room..

Pastor Lee Thomas declined to comment on the pending litigation, citing the advice of legal counsel.

Wes Bridges, the School Board's lawyer, said the school district has not yet seen the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also seeks damages from the two men arrested on criminal charges of sexually abusing the girl: Edward Demoreta and Ricardo Navarro.

Demoreta has been convicted, and Navarro did not show up for his trial.

Demoreta was the girl's former teacher at Mulberry Middle School. School records show he was hired in August 2007 and resigned in August 2010.

He earned an annual salary of about $37,000.

Demoreta also was a youth minister at the girl's church, First Assembly of God.

The lawsuit claims the sexual abuse by Demoreta took place in the school year that began in August 2009.

The lawsuit states Demoreta coerced the girl into performing a sex act upon him on three occasions: once in a classroom after a tutoring session, another time in his car before they arrived at the church, and again in his car inside the parking lot of the church.

The lawsuit also accuses Demoreta of coercing the girl into "taking nude photographs of herself" and sending them to him.

Earlier this year, Demoreta was found guilty on two counts of sexual battery and one count of lewd battery. He was sentenced to about 24 years in prison.

The lawsuit states the same girl also reported that Navarro, another youth minister at the church, requested nude photographs of her.

The lawsuit also claims the girl was cleaning a room of the church when further sexual abuse took place in December 2010.

A trial was scheduled to take place last year, but Navarro did not show up, court records show. An arrest warrant is pending.

[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]