Pastor exonerated, nearly 30 years later

Originally published by Religion News Service

Tears flowed down the face of Rev Richard Rossi when he heard DNA evidence and witnesses cleared him of attempted murder charge

Rev Richard Rossi, a maverick minister turned moviemaker, has been cleared of a 1994 charge of the attempted murder of his wife. His vindication came from DNA evidence, witnesses, and the confession of the culprits who attacked him and his wife and framed him three decades ago.

It was a sensationalistic case that was front-page news in his hometown of Pittsburgh and was widely covered by tabloid TV shows like Inside Edition, Hard Copy, American Journal, and A Current Affair.

One of the confessions was from a police officer Rossi exposed on his popular radio talk-show Richard Rossi Live. Rossi outed police for sexually assaulting women pulled over for routine traffic stops.

The officer committed suicide in the town of his ancestry in Ireland at a Co Antrim PSNI station recently. He left behind a note saying Rossi was innocent, and that he and his accomplices procured a man who looked like Rossi to carjack and attack them in 1994. The second accomplice who confessed is in a mental hospital for the criminally-disturbed.

A Pittsburgh native, Rossi’s current career as a filmmaker who wrote and directed biopics on his childhood hero Roberto Clemente and faith-healing evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, was born from the ashes of the 1994 scandal in his hometown.

Rossi and his wife Sherrie maintained his innocence. Sherrie testified that her husband was innocent in his trial, penned a book defending him, and filed a federal lawsuit for the wrongful prosecution of her husband. 

“I saw the eyes and face of my attacker,” Sherrie Rossi said on the witness stand in May 1995.  “It was NOT my husband.  This is an assault of justice. It is not a prosecution, it is a persecution of my husband because he had the courage to speak the truth and overturn the tables of those in power, like when Christ cleansed the temple.”

The incident and bad publicity that dominated local news caused the Rossi’s to move 4 828 away to Sherrie’s hometown of Hollywood where Rossi reinvented himself as a multi-medium artist who directs movies, releases music albums, and wrote several novels. The Rossi’s also started Eternal Grace, a ministry in Los Angeles attended by celebrities that focuses on “meeting the real needs of people with grace, understanding, and compassion”.

“My brother’s comeback has been like the Super Bowl Steelers coming back in the second half,” Rossi’s brother Joseph said. “We thought he’d be finished. They threatened me before it happened and said if my brother Richard didn’t shut up in his sermons exposing corrupt cops they could frame him and destroy him.”

“Richard was 25 years ahead of his time, before the MeToo movement in confronting those who were sexual predators. Richard and his family paid an awful price for it,” Amy Thomson, a MeToo activist said. “He named names of police who molested women in his congregation before it was fashionable. He had the courage to keep speaking out despite the threats and physical assaults on him and his wife.”

“We have forgiven those who hurt us,” Richard Rossi said. Rossi says his forgiveness is for all, both the attackers and the press. “If Christ prayed, ‘Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do,’ as he was crucified, I choose to forgive all too. We forgive those who tried to destroy us. By the grace of God, our faith is stronger than ever, and through movies, music, books, and ministry, we are reaching more people than ever with the love and healing power of Jesus.”

“Fact-checkers found the coverage of the Rossi’s in the 1990s in Pittsburgh was ‘fake news’ before the term was popular. Despite being acquitted, newspaper articles quoted relatives of Rossi who didn’t exist giving interviews making him look guilty,” Al Hill, a volunteer with a non-profit watchdog group focused on media accuracy said. “The cloud remained over Rossi because of the biased coverage of the case.”

Richard Rossi’s last film Canaan Land, was released in 2020 and can be seen for free at Tubi-TV.  Five songs Rossi penned for the film were on the Oscar list for Best Song consideration. His next film, an anti-bullying children’s story entitled Lucy and the Lake Monster will be released next year. Rossi co-wrote the script with retired schoolteacher Kelly Tabor.

Rossi’s ministry Eternal Grace continues to focus on “healing the whole person and helping other artists.” Their daughter recently graduated with a Master’s in Theology at Princeton University and follows in her father’s footsteps, delivering regular sermons.

News of Rossi’s exoneration brought responses of praise online. Blogger Teri Tee wrote: “I praise and thank God for your life and your families life, what a testimony!!!”

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