This story first popped up in November. Now charges have been filed.
From WKRC TV:
A priest who hosts an exorcism podcast was facing charges after he allegedly took a piece of hair off a teenage girl and used it to floss his teeth.
Prosecutors said on Jan. 22 in a criminal complaint about the Michigan priest, Father Carlos Martins of Detroit, that he “placed hair” of a minor “in his mouth” in an “insulting or provoking nature.” Martins is the host of The Exorcist Files podcast and author of a book with the same title.
He was charged with misdemeanor battery in Illinois over the alleged incident that happened on Nov. 25. Martins has denied the allegations, according to PEOPLE.
The alleged incident happened at the Diocese of Joliet while Martins’ ministry group was there while on a nationwide American tour with The Relic of St. Jude. A teenage boy told police he was waiting in line to see the relic when bald Martins made jokes about when he use to have hair, then he grabbed the 13-year-old girl’s hair and put it in his mouth.
Diocese of Joliet released a statement about the incident and said they ordered Martins to “depart from our parish and out of our Diocese.” He was taken into custody on Jan. 27 and charged with battery.
In a statement given shortly after the incident to CNA, Martins’ lawyer, Marcella Burke said Martins simply touched a girl’s hair in front of more than 200 other students while making a joke about his own baldness.
Burke said the interaction took place “in a classroom setting with teachers, clergy, parish staff, and volunteers present.”
“As he always does, Father Martins began his interaction with the attendees in ‘chit-chat’ dialogue. He is bald and apt to joke about it as a conversation starter,” Burke said in the statement.
“During his conversation with the older students, he made a comment to a student about her long hair, remarking, ‘You and I have almost the same hairstyle,’ a comment met with giggles. He then remarked that he also once had long hair like hers, and he joked he would ‘floss my teeth with it.’ Again, his comment was meant for a teenage audience and was met with laughter.
“He then asked the student, ‘Have you ever flossed with your hair?’” the statement continued. “Laughing, she shook her head, no. He then said, ‘Well, you have the perfect length for it,’ as he lifted up a lock from her shoulders to show her its length. She giggled along with the others.”
When the girl returned home and recounted the story, however, her father “became upset by what he heard and called the police,” Burke said in her November statement.
