A federal lawsuit accuses ICE chaplain Mark Melhorn of repeatedly abusing a detainee at a Pennsylvania facility under the guise of pastoral care.
A Baptist chaplain at a privately-run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Pennsylvania has been accused of sexually abusing a female detainee for more than a year, according to a federal lawsuit.
Pastor Mark Melhorn, 67, allegedly engaged in “extraordinary misconduct” at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, beginning after he gained the woman’s trust by gifting her a Bible. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, claims Melhorn escalated from inappropriate comments and gestures to sexual assault inside her cell.
“Melhorn would ask Ms. Doe if she liked how he looked, stare at her breasts, and lick his lips,” the complaint states. Doe reported the abuse twice, but her lawyer says officials failed to act. “The system absolutely failed our client,” attorney Trina Realmuto told The Independent.
The lawsuit also names ICE, the GEO Group, and facility investigators, citing negligence and systemic abuse. Neither ICE nor the GEO Group has commented.