A Wichita man who police said was arrested after a tip related to the so-called BTK strangler has sued parent companies of three media outlets, alleging they invaded his privacy and defamed him in their reporting of the incident, says the Wichita Eagle. “There was an injustice against me and my family,” said Roger Valadez, 64, “and I think that it’s time we start to repair some of the damage done.”
The suit was filed against Emmis Communications, which operates KSNW, Channel 3 in Wichita, and KSNT, Channel 27 in Topeka; Journal Communications Inc. and Journal Broadcast Group of Kansas Inc., which owns Wichita’s KFDI 101.3-FM; and the Associated Press. Valadez charges that the media outlets broadcast his name, address and information about his family to represent falsely that he was being investigated in connection with the wideely-publicized BTK case. The Eagle says Valadez has been cleared by police in the BTK matter.