Jury rules accusations justified in 'Casa de Esperanza' abuse case

A six-member jury decided in favor of Marco Island philanthropist Tim Farris on June 9 in a defamation suit filed against him by Miguel Morey. Morey is the husband of Donna Arceri Morey, the former owner of Casa de Esperanza, a home for abandoned girls in Bolivia.

The jury ruled Farris' statements that Miguel Morey sexually abused a young woman under his wife's care were not false and Farris' accusations were justified considering his role as donor to the home and an interested party in the girls' welfare.

Farris was pleased with the verdict, saying he felt the report he submitted in 2003 to Donna Morey's father, John Arceri, detailing suspicions of Miguel's misbehavior and financial mismanagement of the home was justified.

"Three years ago when I wrote the report I felt it was the right thing to do, and I still feel that way today," said Farris.

Farris and his defense claim that Arceri, as a donor and another interested party, should have stepped in to investigate the situation like Farris did, who made two trips to Bolivia to speak with the girls and other volunteers before disclosing the report.

In May 2003, Farris and other owners received an unsolicited e-mail from a girl named Angelica, describing her discomfort in the home.

Farris contacted other donors and went to Bolivia to interview the girl, who asked that he not tell Donna Morey of the situation.

After closing statements, Arceri said that during his 2003 meeting with him, Farris never disclosed the detailed accounts of abuse that were revealed in the courtroom and Arceri only became aware of them within the past month.

When he asked Farris in 2003 whether any particular act or exposure occurred, Farris said no.

"Based on that interview, I didn't see the need to do anything but turn it over to Donna," Arceri said.

Jurors listened to the testimony of Donna Morey, Arceri and the video depositions from Bolivia of girls who lived in the home.

On Thursday, the recorded deposition of Angelica was shown to the jury, and through an interpreter, she said that Miguel Morey's advances drove her to leave the home in 2003. She listed several alleged incidents when he would make inappropriate contact and statements, causing her to stay in her room at night and avoid being alone with him.

Her testimony was followed by a housemate named Zulma, who echoed her statements, saying Miguel Morey stated that he felt all the girls were like his daughters, although he felt something different for Angelica. The abuse allegedly occurred when Miguel was left to care for the girls and the home when Donna took a vacation in Marco Island to recover from a difficult pregnancy. During that period, Zulma said, he would come home so inebriated that he needed help climbing the stairs to his bedroom. She also noticed that Anglica grew increasingly withdrawn as Miguel's attention to her increased.

Angelica is currently living in another home called Nuevos Horizantes, or New Horizons, with Farris' financial support.

Donna said June 6 that volunteers had a hard time handling Angelica during her stay at Casa de Esperanza. She was disrespectful, she said, stayed out late and kept to herself.

"There would be times when she would fight with the girls and not talk to them for months at a time," she said.

Alfred Gal, the Morey's attorney for this case and another one that Farris filed against Donna, pointed out inconsistencies in the girls' testimonies.

During his closing statement, he said that Angelica testified that Miguel disclosed an inappropriate wish that involved the two of them, whereas Zulma said Miguel dreamed it. Also, both Angelica and Zulma allowed their sisters to move into the home during the period of the alleged abuse. Instead of going to the person responsible for correcting problems in the home, Donna, Farris contacted her father—an occasional donor who had no involvement with the functions of the organization, he said.

Farris, a Marco Island philanthropist and retiree from the computer industry, founded the Christian-based Farris Foundation in Lawrenceville, Ga. as a seed ministry to support other charities and ministries. Contributions to Casa de Esperanza were wired directly through the foundation.

Legal battles have plagued the home and Donna Morey for three years, this lawsuit being accompanied by one Farris filed against her, alleging that she mishandled $65,000 that he donated to the home for expansion and improvements. Her mother, Lilliana Arceri, is also named in the lawsuit—her sister, Lori Arceri, was dropped as a defendant.

Casa de Esperanza, founded in 1999 by Donna Morey in Bolivia, was started as a safe haven for young women who wanted to continue their education or pursue vocational training. Donna recently sold the home, though it still currently houses three women.

Judge Ted Brousseau made a last ditch effort on June 5 to settle the lawsuit out of court during a preliminary hearing.

Alfred Gal, attorney for Miguel Morey, unsuccessfully encouraged settlement. After hours of mediation, the parties moved on to select the six-member jury that would spend the next four days weighing the evidence.

"Our reason for filing this suit two-and-a-half years ago was to stop Mr. Farris from spreading rumors about our family," Donna Morey said in a written statement on behalf of her husband, a Peruvian who speaks little English. "To this end we were 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 in attacking our family. All the jury has done today is agree that someone said something about my husband, not that my husband did anything improper. We must now move on with our lives."

She said the court did not allow two key witnesses who would have proven that Farris' motives were not in the girls' interest, but vindictiveness toward her.

"There wasn't a fair trial," she said after the verdict was read. "The judge did not allow the witnesses that would have proven our case."