Fr. Fred Ruse
Accused in a lawsuit filed 4/27/2020 of sexually abusing a boy, about ages 14 and 15, in 2001 and 2002. Ruse’s alleged victim claims the abuse occurred in a classroom and in the chaplain’s office at Demilly Correctional Institution in Polk City, FL. Ruse was pastor at the time of the alleged abuse of St. Matthews in Winter Haven. Per the lawsuit, Ruse “suddenly retired” in 2018. He denied the allegations. Ruse’s lawyer said the priest was suspended in 2/2020 and reinstated in 4/2020 after he was “cleared of any wrongdoing.”
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