UPDATED: Framingham Man Sues Newspaper that Ran His Picture with Rape Story

Editor's Note: The MetroWest Daily News originally obtained Angel Ortiz's picture at a January 2011 arraignment on one felony and one misdemeanor charge. Because of information provided by Ortiz's lawyer, an earlier version of this story only referenced the misdemeanor charge. The charges were later dropped.

A Framingham man is suing  and its parent company for publishing a photo of him with an article about a man of the same name, who was

Angel Ortiz, who is in his 40s, was never arrested or charged with the crime; Angel Ortiz, 24, of Chelsea was indicted on the charges.

On Dec. 15, 2011, the newspaper ran a large photograph of Angel Ortiz of Framingham on page 1 and on the newspaper's website with the article, "Man indicted on charges he raped Northborough 12-year-old."

"Someone in the newsroom should have noticed that the photograph was a photo of a 40-something man, and the person arrested was 24," said attorney David H. Rich, who represents Ortiz. Rich is part of a Boston law firm that specializes in media cases.

"My client has no criminal record and has never been convicted of a crime," said Rich.

Rich said the newspaper had a photo of his client from a court appearance in 2011. 

Framingham's Ortiz was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor in 2011, according to police records. He appeared in Framingham District Court in January 2011, said Rich, and the charges were later dropped.

Rich said he did not know why the newspaper snapped a photo of his client that day.

In the civil lawsuit filed in Middlesex Superior Court, Rich wrote, the "caption under the photograph makes clear that The MetroWest Daily News ignored facts within its possession prior to publishing the article with the photograph. Specifically, the article refers to a criminal indictment handed down by a Worcester County grand jury, for which a probable cause determination was later made by Westborough District Court Judge David Locke in December 2011. Despite the references to Worcester County and Westborough District Court, the caption under the Plantiff's photograph reveals that the photograph of the Plantiff was taken in some eleven months earlier in January, 2011."

In the lawsuit, Rich wrote: "The MetroWest Daily News apparently located a photograph of the plantiff and published it without conducting any investigation whatsoever to confirm whether the Angel Ortiz referenced in the front page news article was the same Angel Ortiz identified in the photograph."

"Ortiz brings this action to recover substantial damages for the significant harm inflicted upon him by and through the defendants' actions in wrongly and publicly identifying him as an accused child rapist," wrote Rich.

"Placing Mr. Ortiz's photograph on page 1 has had a devastating impact on my client's ability to live a normal life," Rich said in a telephone interview. "He has suffered significant stress."

Rich said his client has had a "very difficult time doing normal family things out of fear someone who read the article in the paper or on the Internet will try to harm him in some way."

Ortiz, who lives in Framingham with his wife and children, did not attend his son's Christmas pageant, because "he was worried it could cause a scene and he didn't wish to ruin the event for his son," said Rich.

Rich wrote in the suit, the "public outrage wrongly directly at Mr. Ortiz was swift and caused him significant physical, emotional, reputational and economic damage."

Ortiz stayed in his house for a while after the photograph was published, Rich said. He feared going out in public with his family, especially his children, he added.

Ortiz works as a manual laborer, but since the photograph of him appeared on the front page of the paper and on the Internet with the article, he has "had a difficult time getting work," said Rich. "His employer no longer returns his phone calls and will not provide him with work."

Rich said he wrote a letter to The MetroWest Daily News Editor Richard Lodge on Dec. 16, demanding a front page retraction. Lodge responded the paper would run something the next day, Saturday, Dec. 17, according to Rich, and he told Rich the photo was  "immediately removed the photo from the website," upon receipt of the letter.

"The retraction ran on the bottom of page 2, with no photo," said Rich.

Lodge, contacted by telephone, said the newspaper does not comment on pending litigation.

"The MetroWest Daily News published an inadequate, ineffective, unreasonable, meaningless and failed 'correction' in small type buried at the bottom of page 2," Rich wrote in the court papers filed.

Rich said the newspaper "failed to respond to or remedy in any meaningful or legally recognizable manner the damage it knew it had caused Mr. Ortiz."

Ortiz never received a personal letter of apology from anyone at the daily newspaper, added Rich.

Rich said when he contacted the newspaper again, he was referred to the lawyer for Gatehouse Media, the paper's parent company. 

Rich filed the civil suit in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on Feb. 1. Under Massachusetts law, no dollar amount can be requested in the suit.

A jury trial has been requested. According to Rich, it may be nine months to a year before the first court date.