Sarasota County man sues priest, alleging sexual abuse

SARASOTA (FL)
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

July 8, 2020

By Frank Fernandez

The 33-year-old man said sexual abuse took place when he was a teenager about 20 years ago.

A 33-year-old man has filed a lawsuit against a retired Catholic priest who lives in Ormond Beach, accusing the priest of sexually molesting him two decades ago when the man was a teenager being held in a juvenile detention facility.

Louis Reed, the accuser who has filed the lawsuit, agreed to have his name published for this story.

Reed’s suit is filed in Polk County Circuit Court against the Rev. Fred Ruse. An attorney for the former priest said his client did not want to discuss the lawsuit and denied the allegations in a phone interview, citing Reed’s criminal history to question his credibility.

“I already had mental health issues and someone gained my trust as a vulnerable teenager and took advantage of me,” Reed said in a phone interview.

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