A former Catholic priest and two dominatrixes have been charged with vandalism after having sex on a church altar.
Travis Clark, 37, and the two women were initially charged by US police with obscenity following the alleged tryst inside the Sts Peter and Paul Church, Louisiana, last September.
Local authorities have now announced lesser charges for the trio, who were arrested after a passer-by saw the alleged encounter through a church window and alerted police.
Court documents report the two dominatrixes, Mindy Dixon, 41, and Melissa Cheng, 28, were wearing corsets and high heels during the threesome, which was being filmed.
Police recovered sex toys and stage lights from the scene, along with recording devices.
Clark, who had been a NOLA pastor at the church since 2019 and the chaplain of a nearby Catholic High School, was then arrested by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office for having group sex in a publicly visible location.
Court documents stated the two women involved, 41-year-old Mindy Dixon, and 23-year-old Melissa Cheng, were also arrested. Dixon is an adult film actress who works as a dominatrix, according to The New Orleans Advocate.
The newspaper reported that a social media account post from Dixon the day before her arrest stated that she was going to New Orleans to meet another dominatrix and “defile a house of God.”
An lawyer for Ms Dixon and Ms Cheng told local news that state prosecutors “overstepped their bounds” by bringing charges against them.
“It is clear the state went out of its way to contort the facts of this case in order to fit their own narrative,” lawyer Bradley Phillips said.
“This [is] nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to regulate the morality of private individuals. Just because you don’t like something, doesn’t make it criminal. My clients look forward to their day in court as we continue to fight this baseless allegation,” he said.
In her emotional public appeal, Cheng stated:
“It is unfortunate that I am being presented to the world as a criminal when, in fact, I have done nothing wrong… Everything that occurred took place behind closed doors, on private property, and none of the conduct alleged was criminal in nature.”
“The fact that this involved a priest or took place in a church is completely irrelevant. The only pertinent question is if it took place in view of the public. Clearly that is not the case.
“The evidence will show that an individual had to enter the church’s private property and look through a window to see what was taking place. By definition, then, it was not in public view.”
“The fact that I am being vilified like this is quite frankly, appalling. I understand that people may be upset by this situation, but that does not make this conduct illegal or criminal in any way. I would implore anyone seeking to pass judgment to direct their energy elsewhere.”
The women told police at the time that they were at the church to film “role-play” with the priest.
Police determined everything that went on that night was consensual, but initially arrested the trio on the obscenity charges because they were in view of the public.
Mr Clark was removed from the church the day after his arrest.
The church’s altar was burned and a new one was consecrated last October.