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Truly bizarre accusations were made recently against an Illinois priest: The priest pretended to floss his teeth with a 13-year-old girl’s hair and then, according to the court documents, sat down behind her and started growling, the girl and other teens who witnessed what happened have alleged.
The priest is Carlos Martins, who also hosts The Exorcist Files, a podcast about exorcisms—because, of course he does. The alleged incident happened in November last year while Martins led a tour group through Queen of Apostles Catholic Church in Joliet, IL. Martins was formally charged with misdemeanor battery on Jan. 22, and is expected to appear in court in Joliet on Feb. 24. But, according to a letter from Martins’ attorney, Marcella Burke, it was all fun and games.
The priest says he was just yuckin’ it up with the kids
In the letter, Burke says Martins, 50, is bald and likes to joke about it. Martins’ accuser, the 13-year-old girl, has long hair. According to Burke, Martins broke the ice with the tour group, telling the girl he has the same hairstyle as her, which according to Martins, the teens laughed about.
Taking things further, Martins then told the girl what he used to do with his long hair: Floss his teeth with it. Burke asked the girl if she’d ever tried it, and she said she hadn’t. According to Burke’s letter, the whole bit seemed to be going well with the audience, so Martins — wait for it — allegedly picked up a lock of her hair and stuck it in his mouth.
According to court documents, witnesses confirmed Martins stuck the girl’s hair in his mouth but, just two people saw what Martins is accused of doing next: Martins’ accuser and her friend, who was also part of the tour group, told investigators he sat down behind them and started growling. Martins, through his attorney, has denied the growling allegations.
Incredibly, the situation got even messier
Reportedly, after the girl told her father what happened, her father — understandably — got upset and called the police, who interviewed witnesses, determining no crime had been committed, and no arrests were made. But the girls’ father insisted on filing misdemeanor battery charges.
Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Detroit, where Martins is from, revoked Martins’ priesthood, and he paid a $100 fine. Martins and his legal team have pledged they will fight the charges. (In a letter, Martins’ law firm called it a “voluntary and temporary withdrawal from ministry” and that it should not “be seen as an admission of guilt but is standard practice today for clergy.”)
To further complicate the matter, when news broke of Martins’ allegations, The Pillar, a Catholic news outlet, reported that Martins was accused of “inappropriate conduct involving children” before details of the case were made public. Understandably, a Catholic priest accused of “inappropriate” conduct with a minor set off alarm bells on social media and in the Catholic community. Others online defended Martins, calling the accusations, in light of the details, “outrageous.”
After their report, Martins’ attorney issued a cease and desist letter to The Pillar accusing the outlet of defamation. A portion of the letter read,
This misinformation is so obviously damaging to Fr. Martins’ personal and professional character and reputation by implying that Fr. Martins behavior mirrors other instances of clergy abuse, a deplorable allusion that in no way reflects the facts. In addition to being defamatory, these statements may also constitute a violation of canon law which protects a priest’s good name and reputation.”
So, we want to be clear: Everything Martins’ is accused of doing is alleged, and nothing was exactly sexual. He’s accused of flossing his teeth with a 13-year-old girl’s hair and then growling at her. That’s so much better … I guess.