A Baptist pastor serving as a chaplain inside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in central Pennsylvania has been accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a detained migrant woman under the guise of offering pastoral care, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week.
Pastor Mark Melhorn, 67, is alleged to have preyed on the woman — identified in court records as Jane Doe — over the course of a year at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a privately-run ICE lockup operated by the GEO Group.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, describes Melhorn’s conduct as “extraordinary misconduct” that escalated from inappropriate comments to sexual assault inside Doe’s cell, according to The Independent.
According to the complaint, Melhorn began abusing Doe shortly after she arrived at the facility in August 2023. The alleged abuse started after he gave her a Bible — a gesture that initially earned her trust.
From there, the situation deteriorated. “Melhorn would ask Ms. Doe if she liked how he looked, stare at her breasts, and lick his lips while staring at her,” the lawsuit claims. “While Melhorn and detained women sang hymns together, he would position himself so that he could stare at Ms. Doe from behind. When she tried to change her position so that he could not stare at her from behind, he would change his position and continue staring at her.”
Melhorn allegedly used prayer as cover to touch Doe inappropriately. The complaint says he would place his hands on her head, then slide them down her body in a suggestive manner. The behavior allegedly escalated until Melhorn entered Doe’s cell and sexually assaulted her.
“Ms. Doe was terrified and got up abruptly,” the complaint says. “Melhorn immediately warned Ms. Doe not to report him. He told her no one would believe her.”
Doe did report the abuse — twice — but, according to the lawsuit, nothing changed.
“The system absolutely failed our client,” said Trina Realmuto, Doe’s attorney and executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance. “It takes a lot of courage to speak up, [especially] when you’re fighting an immigration case in a detention facility.”
Doe, a devout Christian and undocumented migrant from the Dominican Republic who had been living in New Jersey, remains traumatized and has been diagnosed with PTSD, according to her legal team.
The complaint outlines a pattern of escalating behavior. Melhorn, it says, would enter Doe’s cell under the pretense of delivering religious materials but instead would place papers on her lap and rub her inner thigh. In one instance, he allegedly spied on her while she was partially nude, peeking over a privacy screen.
In March 2024, Melhorn allegedly groped Doe while she was sleeping. A month later, according to the complaint, he entered her cell, made sexually explicit remarks, groped her, and forced her to touch him. Only the sudden return of Doe’s cellmate brought the encounter to an end.
The complaint further alleges that when Doe fled to the common area, Melhorn followed her and continued the abuse. He told her that no one would believe her — and that other women had tried to report him and failed.
Doe remained silent until April 2024, when, during a meeting with a social worker, she disclosed what had been happening. The social worker was legally obligated to report the allegations under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
That same day, Doe was told that Melhorn had a history of similar behavior. A nurse reportedly told her he was known as “a pervert” at the facility. A female guard also reportedly said Melhorn had entered the women’s staff locker room inappropriately.
Despite this, a PREA investigation concluded that Doe’s allegations were “unsubstantiated,” citing a lack of surveillance footage.
According to the lawsuit, Melhorn was removed from the women’s unit during the investigation but was set to return once the case was closed. When word got out about Doe’s complaint, she was allegedly threatened by other women in the unit for “snitching” and was moved to protective custody.
Melhorn allegedly tracked her down again.
On July 5, 2024, the lawsuit says Melhorn located Doe’s protective custody cell, stood outside while she used the toilet, sang her name, and asked her why she was in isolation. Doe screamed for an officer. A second PREA investigation was opened, but it too was closed as “unsubstantiated,” citing the same lack of video evidence.
Melhorn was still employed at the facility as of Doe’s release, her legal team said.
On August 29, 2024, Doe’s immigration attorney submitted a request for release, citing the ongoing trauma. ICE released Doe the next day. She is now out of custody but still facing deportation proceedings.
The complaint, which names Melhorn, the U.S. government, the GEO Group, and Moshannon’s PREA investigator as defendants, lists 11 causes of action, including negligence, violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and intrusion upon seclusion. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
ICE and the GEO Group declined to comment. The PREA investigator named in the suit could not be reached.
Doe’s allegations appear to echo broader concerns about sexual abuse inside ICE detention. An earlier report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties cited a “concerning number of reports of sexual assault and harassment” at Moshannon.
Lauren DesRosiers, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at Albany Law School, told The Independent that such abuse is “not an isolated incident,” pointing to ongoing congressional investigations into detention conditions.
“There’s good documentation that abuse is a widespread problem,” DesRosiers said, referencing a recent report from Senator Jon Ossoff’s office about mistreatment of pregnant women and children in ICE custody.
“This is part of a larger pattern of sexual violence perpetrated by staff and volunteers on people who are under their supposed care,” said Dr. Kristina M. Fullerton Rico, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Racial Justice at the University of Michigan.
Realmuto said her team hopes others will come forward.
“There are an untold number of women who have passed through this facility who have been subjected to the same or worse types of sexual abuse,” she said. “It’s particularly disturbing when it’s coming from the clergy, which, for many people who are detained, is supposed to be a source of comfort.”
Doe’s lawsuit alleges 11 individual causes of action, including negligence, intrusion upon seclusion, and violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. She is seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages to be determined in court, along with attorneys’ fees.
Melhorn did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
