Defamation? Marco philanthropist innocent

A six-member jury decided Friday that Marco Island philanthropist Timothy Farris didn't defame Miguel Morey when Farris reported a girl's allegations that Morey had sexually abused her to Morey's father-in-law, former Marco City Councilman John Arceri.

The jury deliberated for almost 4 hours to reach its verdict and delivered it just after 3 p.m. Friday after a five-day trial in Collier Circuit Judge Ted Brousseau's courtroom.

The girl was staying at Casa de Esperanza in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where she told Farris and others that Morey made improper remarks and advances on her.

Morey, 40, is married to Donna Arceri-Morey, 38, daughter of John Arceri and founder of Casa de Esperanza. The accusations centered around a three-month period in 2003 while his wife was dealing with a difficult pregnancy at her parents' home on Marco Island.

Morey remained at the ministry house with a house mother in charge of the girls.

Testimony this week centered on girls who stayed in the Casa de Esperanza home and other ministry volunteers who worked with the ministry.

In videotaped testimonies, some witnesses said Morey's accuser wasn't credible and was a disrespectful, rebellious girl at 19 who wouldn't follow house rules or obey Donna Morey's direction.

Morey took the stand in his own defense and adamantly denied that he had ever mistreated any of the six girls staying at the home.

Morey contends that Farris' accusations ruined his reputation and damaged his relationships with his wife and her family when he made the accusations known to his father-in-law and to donors who supported Casa de Esperanza without talking to him or his wife first.

Other witnesses — including Farris — testified, however, that Morey had committed the abusive acts.

The jury sided with those witnesses when they decided that Farris' written statements in a five-page report he hand-delivered to John Arceri at a coffee shop on Marco in October 2003 weren't libelous.

The jury also agreed that Farris' verbal statements to Arceri that he believed the girl's accusations to be true weren't slanderous.

Joseph Metzger, who represents Farris, said the jury made the right decision based on the evidence.

"We have always taken the position that this was a fruitless case," Metzger said after the verdict was read. "There was never any strong attempt by John Arceri or his family to investigate Mr. Farris' information.

"My client did what a reasonable person would do," Metzger continued. "He conducted an investigation, traveling twice to Bolivia to get the facts. He then took the report to Mr. Arceri, the father of the director of the ministry, because of the seriousness of the matter. He handled it with discretion and confidentiality."

Farris said he had no reservations about reporting the girl's accusations to John Arceri.

"When I wrote that report three years ago, I thought it was the right thing to do," Farris said after the verdict. "I still think it was the right thing to do today."

Arceri disagreed with Metzger's summary of Farris' actions.

"When we met at the coffee shop, I asked Tim if Miguel had committed any physical abuse, had exposed himself, or committed a sexual act, and Tim said 'no'," Arceri said.

"That girl had left the ministry house several months before Mr. Farris told me about this, and Miguel was in New York when he gave me his report," Arceri added. "All the recommendations he made in his report regarding the ministry all required the removal of my daughter as director, which proved to me that Mr. Farris had wrong motives. The only reason he went to Bolivia was to coach the girls on their depositions for the trial."

Donna Arceri-Morey spoke for her husband after the verdict.

"Our reason for filing this suit 2 1/2 years ago was to stop Mr. Farris from spreading rumors about our family," she said in a prepared statement. "To this end, we have been successful. We were very disappointed, however, that the court did not allow us to present documents or witnesses to prove the real motives of Mr. Farris.

"All the jury has done today is agree that someone had said something about my husband, not that my husband had done anything improper. We now must move on with our lives."

Farris' lawsuit against the Moreys and Casa de Esperanza, which contends Florida law was violated regarding financial reporting and accounting practices, is scheduled to be heard in Collier Circuit Court in late August, Metzger said.