Man acquitted of molesting girl wins right to identify parents

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- A man acquitted of molesting a girl at a Bridgeport synagogue has won the right to identify her parents in a lawsuit accusing them of making false sexual abuse allegations against him, his attorney said Monday.

Alfredo Vargas, a 69-year-old handyman, spent about five years in prison before he was acquitted in January in a second trial.

Weeks before he was acquitted, the parents of the girl won a settlement that gave them the synagogue that Vargas had built by hand, temple leaders say. Vargas, an illegal immigrant from Nicaragua, was deported.

When Vargas sued the parents, they sought to have the entire court record sealed to protect the girl. A Superior Court judge in Bridgeport agreed to replace the parents' names with pseudonyms.

The Connecticut Appellate Court last week turned down a bid by the parents to reconsider its decision in June rejecting the use of pseudonyms, Max Rosenberg, an attorney for Vargas, said Monday.

Attorneys for Vargas say the parents have accused others of sexual abuse as well, but the court order sealing their names might prevent additional people from coming forward.

"I'm very, very happy," Rosenberg said. "I think the court understands the situation here and realizes the threat to the general public that these people present."

Rosenberg identified the parents as Andrew LaBella and Cheryl Hoppenstein.

A telephone message was left Monday with Max Brunswick, their attorney.

The case is establishing standards for when court cases can proceed with pseudonyms, Rosenberg said.

"We're really defining what elements need to occur in order to have the benefit of anonymity or pseudonyms," Rosenberg said.

Brunswick has said the court order was appropriate to protect the girl's privacy and called the lawsuit a retaliation for the settlement.

In his lawsuit, Vargas cites affidavits from a rabbi and another family who say the same parents made sexual abuse accusations against their children, though no one else was prosecuted.

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My question is, "Gee, I wonder who paid for this ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT'S legal defense?????