Posted on 06/11/2008 3:48:55 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
GREELEY, Colo. -- Jury selection began Monday morning for a priest accused of indecent exposure for running naked very early in the morning.
The Rev. Robert Whipkey, 53, is on trial in Weld County District Court. He was arrested last June in Frederick, about 25 miles north of Denver, after an officer said he was seen walking naked on a street at 4:35 a.m.
The jury selection process is expected to last through Tuesday.
Even though he is a Roman Catholic priest, the judge has approved a defense motion to exclude any references to Whipkey's profession during the trial because it has no bearing on the charge.
But the judge did allow previous allegations, including those that Whipkey has been seen walking around his home and swimming nude, to be admitted at the trial.
When he was arrested, Whipkey said he sweats profusely if he wears clothing while jogging, according to the arrest report. Police said he told them he had been running naked at the track at Frederick High School and didn't think anyone would be around that time of day.
Robyn Ciaravola, who lives across the street from Whipkey's home at the St. Theresa rectory in Frederick, told the Longmont Times-Call last summer that she has often seen Whipkey walking around naked through a window of his home during the three years she’s lived in the house.
"All of his drapes are always open, and he’s basically nude in the house," she said. "I have no problem with what someone does in his house, but he should close the drapes."
He also allegedly appeared nude at a summer camp for Catholic boys in 1999. A parishioner at St. Anthony's Parish in Sterling told the Rocky Mountain News that Whipkey was naked in front of several boys but that no charges were ever filed. The parishioner said several families left the church as a result of the incident.
"He was shaving with his clothes off and some of the boys saw him," said Larry Graham, former police chief for Sterling, Colo. Graham said his investigation revealed there had been no sexual contact between the priest and boys and that no laws had been broken.
If convicted of indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, Whipkey would have to register as a sex offender, prosecutors said.
He has pleaded not guilty.
The Denver Archdiocese has placed Whipkey on administrative leave.
You really enjoy posting these articles, don’t you.
Weren’t the charges dismissed due to lack of evidence?
I’m sure theres a perfectly reasonable explination for all this...........
What a weirdo.
Discuss the issues all you want but do not make it personal.
- A motions hearing was scheduled for January 31st, took place March 4
- A pretrial conference was scheduled for March 7
- Another hearing was scheduled for April 18
- The jury trial, originally scheduled to start in March, was rescheduled to June 11-12, due to Whipkey being out-of-state undergoing some sort of treatment
- The Weld County Judge is Michele Meyer
- The Prosecutor is Kent Leier
- The Defense lawyers are Matt Giacomini and Doug Tisdale
Pertinent facts:
- Whipkey's vocation (i.e. his status as a Catholic priest) will not be revealed to the jury during the trial, by order of Judge Meyer, but prior incidents of public exhibitionism on the part of Whipkey will be admissible. The judge also reversed a prior ruling, allowing the priest's statement to officers "I know what I did was wrong" to be admissible as evidence.
- The Denver Post coverage mentioned that, on the same day that Whipkey's "not guilty" plea was entered, a lawyer representing Whipkey (presumably one of the Tisdales) said the priest deeply regretted any discomfort and embarrassment that the situation had caused Catholics in the archdiocese, his family or anyone else.
- According to the CW2 coverage, Father Whipkey was slapped with a mandatory restraining order against the Frederick police officer who found him naked, and Whipkey was ordered to be fingerprinted.
- According to the earlier Times-Call coverage, the Archdiocese of Denver had yet to surrender Whipkey's personnel records to the Weld County Prosecutor at the time of the arraignment hearing.
Prior articles, in chronological order:
Naked truth: Priest jogs in birthday suit
Colo. priest charged for jogging naked
Priest faced prior nudity allegations
Jogging in (less than) brief
Jury will decide priest’s guilt [naked jogging priest case goes to trial]
Priest caught naked pleads not guilty to indecent exposure
Priest’s pre-trial hearing delayed [Father Bob Whipkey, the naked jogging priest]
Judge suppresses priest’s statement [Father Bob Whipkey, the naked jogging priest]
Trial For Suspected Naked Jogging Priest Begins
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