When the lights were still on past the usual time at a Louisiana Catholic church in September 2020, an onlooker peered in and made a surprising discovery.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, inside the church and on the altar at the Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in Pearl River, a priest, half-naked, was allegedly having sex with two women dressed in high-heeled boots and corsets. A tripod with a camera had been set up, recording the incident.
The eyewitness decided to take their own video of the incident and sent it to authorities. The video allegedly showed Clark as he pulled up his priest uniform and bent over the altar, CBS 4 reports. Lights were set up around the trio, “as if they were filming some type of event.”
Police initially arrested the priest of Saints Peter and Paul, Rev. Travis Clark, on obscenity charges. Clark had been the priest at the church since 2019.
According to the arrest warrant, Mindy Dixon, 41, an adult film actor who also works as a dominatrix, was involved in the video, as well as Melissa Cheng, 23. Both were initially charged with obscene acts.
Police said Dixon posted on Facebook in September 2020 and said she was on her way to meet a fellow dominatrix “and defile a house of God.”
Previous video coverage on the case
The St. Tammany Parish District Attorney’s Office announced Friday that the trio would face lesser charges of vandalism. Dixon and Cheng’s lawyer, Bradley Phillips, told the outlet that the prosecution “overstepped their bounds” when they brought charges against the women.
“Instead, after waiting nearly six months, the state has decided to move forward with a lesser charge of ‘institutionalized vandalism.’ It is clear the state went out of its way to contort the facts of this case in order to fit their own narrative,” Phillips said.
“Once again, they have overstepped their bounds as this 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.”
Investigators said they found plastic sex toys, two recording devices, and stage lights at the scene, as well as the witness who could see the sexual act from public view. Louisiana law states that it’s illegal to have sex in public, but Phillips argued that the incident was private and not meant for someone to watch through a window.
On Monday, Clark pleaded not guilty. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Rev. Travis Clark (center), Mindy Dixon (left,) & Melissa Cheng (right)/Police Handout]
