Bishop charged with molesting girl

Richard George Melli Sr. of the Traditional Episcopal Church is accused of lewd and lascivious acts over a five-year period.

By TAMARA LUSH

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 12, 2000

SHADY HILLS -- Friends of Richard George Melli Sr. say he is a "fine Christian gentleman."

He's a bishop who leads a small, independent church near the Pasco-Hernando county line. He loves animals so much that he blesses them and has set aside a section of his land as a pet cemetery.

He is good to people, too, said friends.

Recently, one of his parishioners had hip surgery -- and Melli took that person grocery shopping last Friday.

Just a few days after that, police painted a different picture of the 70-year-old man.

On Monday, Melli was arrested on a charge that he fondled a young girl over a five-year period.

Melli, who lives at 20253 Twin Oaks Road, the same address as his church, was charged with performing lewd and lascivious acts. Police said that when Melli was arrested, he told police that he was a retired retail executive, and did not identify himself as a church leader.

The girl, now 14, told police that Melli molested her from the time she was 5 until she was 10. Melli was released from the county jail in Land O'Lakes on Monday after posting $2,500 bail.

A man answering the phone at the Traditional Episcopal Church on Friday identified himself as Bishop Richard George Melli Sr., and said he would not comment on the charge.

John McNair, a lay reader at the church, hadn't heard about the allegations until Friday when a reporter called.

"I just can't believe it," said McNair of Spring Hill. "It is easy for someone to make an accusation."

McNair, a widower who had hip surgery recently, said Melli picked him up at his home and brought him to the Kash n' Karry last week.

The Traditional Episcopal Church began in 1992 after a group of clergy and lay people split from the Episcopal church. It is more conservative than the Episcopal church, using older prayer books and barring gays and lesbians from the priesthood. There are about 1,000 members of the Traditional Episcopal Church nationwide, and about 11,000 around the globe.

During an interview with the Times in 1997, Melli said he was ordained a deacon in 1979 and made a priest in 1980. His property on Twin Oaks Road hosts a seminary, a guest house and a church in a rustic country setting.

Melli's Sunday services attract about 10 members, said McNair.

Rosalie Fredericks of Spring Hill said she occasionally attends services at the church. Melli has blessed several of her cats, she said.

Fredericks said she has buried two of her cats in his pet cemetery.

"He has been a wonderful person," she said.

She said Melli told her that the charge was a "misunderstanding."

-- Information from Times files was used in this report.

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