Sex-abuse allegation: Catholic diocese faces lawsuits by two different victims

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By Walter Pacheco and Sarah Lundy, Orlando Sentinel

For most of his life, 34-year-old Jason Bell never spoke about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of a priest. He struggled to trust people growing up and became withdrawn.

On Wednesday, he publicly took a stand.

The Volusia County painter filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando and the Diocese of Gary, Ind.

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"I want to let people be aware that it is going on in our churches and people do need to be aware of it," Bell said during a press conference outside the Orange County Courthouse.

He accuses former priest Richard Emerson of molesting him during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was 11-years-old when he met Emerson at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Orlando, where the priest served from 1987 to 1990.

Emerson also served in St. Peter's Catholic Church in DeLand and Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando in 1990 and 1991.

"Then, I thought maybe I would burn in hell. It was impossible to come against a priest," he said about why he never told anyone. "Now, I have children of my own. I don't want anything like that to happen to them."

While in Central Florida, Emerson was on temporary assignment from Indiana and returned there in 1991. The Diocese of Gary placed Emerson administrative leave in December 2004 after sexual abuse allegations. He resigned in 2006. It's unclear where he lives now.

Several other victims, including three from Central Florida, have filed lawsuits against Emerson, said Bell's attorney, Joseph Saunders.

"We trust the alleged victim's attorney will allow us to meet with the alleged victim to discuss his situation," according to statement by the diocese of Orlando.

A second lawsuit against a different priest was filed in Orange County earlier this month.

Vernon F. Uhran, the former priest at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs, plied a 14-year-old altar boy with alcohol on a "spiritual retreat" to a beach in 1970, according to the lawsuit filed by an Orlando man.

The priest is accused of using "this opportunity to sexually abuse [the victim] repeatedly."

The victim's attorney, Douglas Jeffrey, said his client did not want to be publicly named.

Uhran is no stranger to allegations of sexual abuse. The former priest already has cost the Diocese at least $1 million in out-of-court settlements.

Diocese spokeswoman Carol Brinati initially said the allegations against Uhran contained in the lawsuit were credible. She later revised her statement to show that in "this particular situation we have not made a determination since the allegation is still new."

Uhran had served at St. Mary Magdalen and Bishop Moore High School from 1969 to 1973, the Church of the Resurrection and Santa Fe High School in Lakeland from 1973 to 1976 and St. Theresa Catholic Church in Belleview from 1976 to 1981.

Former Orlando Bishop Norbert Dorsey removed Uhran from the ministry in 1992 after an allegation of sexual abuse.

A third lawsuit against a different priest could be filed soon. The diocese denied those allegations and called that potential lawsuit "false and malicious."

Walter Pacheco can be reached at wpacheco@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6262. Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.

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