Provided by Monk:FREDERICK, Colo.—A Catholic priest faces an indecent exposure charge after police said he went jogging in the nude about an hour before sunrise.
The Rev. Robert Whipkey told officers he had been running naked at a high school track and didn't think anyone would be around at that time of day, a police report said.
He told officers he sweats profusely if he wears clothing while jogging. "I know what I did was wrong," he said in the report.
Whipkey did not return phone messages. His attorney, Doug Tisdale, told the Longmont Times-Call that Whipkey had no comment.
Whipkey, 53, was arrested June 22 in this small town about 20 miles north of Denver. An officer said he saw a naked man walking down the street at 4:35 a.m. The U.S. Naval Observatory Web site said sunrise that day in Frederick was 5:31 a.m.
The officer said when he shined his flashlight at the man, he covered himself with a piece of clothing he was carrying.
The
Archdiocese of Denver said it takes the incident seriously but is awaiting the outcome of the case. Whipkey, who also officiates at parishes in the nearby towns of Mead and Erie, remains an active priest.
If convicted of indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, he would have to register as a sex offender, prosecutors said.
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Given the current climate of religious clergy and sexual abuse (not even to mention the attention of this focused on catholics) I simply cannot see how anyone could ever consider doing something of this sort without having some other darker motive at work.
This is like flying across country, spotting a handgun that catches your fancy for various reasons and then trying to smuggle it through airport security and wondering why everyone reacts so badly when its found.
Either this guy is a complete rudding idiot or there is something much darker going on here.
He may have used poor judgement but is that what the sex-offender registry should be used for?
Ridiculous!
I posted right after you (didn't see yours), and my post is not directed toward you, but as a comment about the American attitudes and abuses of laws.
Just so you know.
Such a conglomeration of "offenders" muddies the waters so that people cannot easily keep an eye on the real threats.
It just boggles my mind that this guy would not consider the ramifications and the high probability of someone seeing him.
You're right about that guy. I avoid trying to explain why people do what they do.
But I think more of the cases where, say someone is camping, decides to skinny-dip and gets busted by park-guards because of a complaint. In some states, you automatically go on the list. Absurd.
I remember reading, maybe on this blog even, about a guy who is on the list because he got convicted on a statutory rape at age 17 for having sex with his 16 yr old girlfriend. That follows him everywhere.
By no means am I, like yourself, defending sexual predators or espousing a belief the notification/label should be abandoned, but the offender/predator distinction should have been much more thoughtfully written into these laws. Lumping like this is wreckless. I have teenage kids. I'd hate to think an indiscretion on their part (and thinking back on my teenage years, discretion and judgement are hardly a strong suit of that age group)could be life-ruining for and for no just or reasonable reason.
Thackerie (who never wears clothes when she can get away with it)
That'll learn 'em!
I mean seriously, folks, the mental picture alone is hysterical. Imagine what the cop thought...
Yours in good humor,
Monk (MG)
The above is NOT a good idea
when confronting a clergyman.
He will think you are inviting him to do a "rectal stretch"
on you. Would you be ready for that?
I guess it would be wrong to say that all the priesthood is weird but I would like to know what small percentage
is not.
1) What the hell was he thinking? I mean, I wouldn't mind running around naked, but I'm not going to do it just anywhere. The law is pretty clear about that. If I really wanted to, I'd go to a nudist colony. The guy could have just worn short shorts... doesn't the "junk" risk getting tangled up if you run naked anyway?
2) "Sex offender" list? Ugh! I hate the equation with sex and nudity anyway. So puritan! And as others have said, how does this do anyone any good? I want to know about REAL threats, not some idiot who ran naked in the middle of the night. I don't mind sex offender registries for rapists and molesters- in fact, they are very important! But a minor case (a misdemeanor, in fact) of public nudity? That does not constitute a public threat.
At my college, the big tradition is to run naked to a certain campus landmark. Luckily, there's no "sex offender" status placed on those who are caught- otherwise, almost every single grad would be on the list!
It's not simply because he was caught nude. Its the combination of his profession, where he was, and what he was doing.
I think there are ample signs here to dig deeper into this guys background. Sorry if its embarrassing for him, but he did do something so amazingly stupid that I find it hard to believe that it was done in innocence. There is just something wrong with this picture.
Yah, its funny, as Monk points out, but honestly, a guy running naked by a high school? That should only get a good laugh and give the guy a break? I can't agree with that. Set aside the fact he's a priest if it makes you feel better.