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....the record of abuse in the Diocese of Oakland has never been fully disclosed. ...Vigneron had been making the rounds of 20 Diocese of Oakland parishes to apologize for 12 priests accused of abuse. At least two accused diocesan priests and 19 members of religious orders still serve at church facilities... in the scandal-plagued Archdiocese of Boston and other dioceses around the country. In 1952, the year Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School opened, the Rev. James Prindeville began molesting a 16-year-old girl at the school, Those victims who have come forward ranged in age from 2 to 17. At least...

GREELEY - A former Catholic priest who was found jogging naked in Frederick must register as a sex offender, a Weld County judge ordered today. Judge Timothy Kerns said the law required Robert Whipkey to register, but the judge would have required it anyway. Whipkey was sentenced to five years of probation ad cannot have contact with any children younger than 18, even family members. Whipkey was convicted of indecent exposure in June after a five-hour trial. He faced between six and 18 months in prison along with having to register as a sex offender. He was the pastor of...

The Democrat National Convention of the pro-abortion party of the United States will take place within the Archdiocese of Denver from Saturday, August 23, with the official Welcoming Celebration, through Friday, August 29, 2008. More than 50,000 persons, including Democrat Party elected politicians, party members, delegates, and media, are expected for the weeklong event at various venues throughout the city. Many of these visiting folks will be pro-abortion Catholics — or Catholics in name only. Ironically, the 'Freedom from Religion Foundation' is posting a billboard near the Convention Center that says, 'Keep Religion Out of Politics.' Many are wondering if...

Although the Vatican is the only entity with power to take away a priest's title, a former Catholic leader of parishes in Erie, Mead and Frederick won't lead any more Masses after being convicted this week for jogging nude in public, church officials said. Robert Whipkey, 53, was placed on administrative leave by the Archdiocese of Denver in August after he was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure for jogging nude around a high school track in the town of Frederick early one morning last summer. A Frederick police officer saw a naked Whipkey walking home from the high school...

It took a jury less than three hours to find a priest guilty of indecent exposure for jogging naked. Whipkey and his defense attorney Harvey Steinberg did not comment following the verdict. Around 6:30 p.m. today jurors reached the verdict in the trial of Rev. Robert Whipkey, 53, who told Frederick police officer Zacheria Hahn in June of 2007 he was jogging nude early in the morning at the high school track because he sweats profusely. Whipkey’s defense attorney Harvey Steinberg argued Whipkey did not intend to show his genitals to the public. Prosecutors said Whipkey’s excuse of sweating too...

A Frederick priest had a habit of walking around nude, according to testimony at an indecent exposure trial today. Robert Whipkey, 53, was arrested when he was seen heading home on June 22 last year after a pre-dawn jog in the buff. A police officer today testified he was stunned to see a large nude man walking down the street near his home that morning. "I have seen lots of things in my line of work," said Officer Zachariah Hahn. "But I was shocked to see a man walking completely nude down the street." Today was the first day of...

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...

GREELEY — A Frederick priest accused of indecent exposure may negotiate a plea deal since two court rulings did not go his way this week, his attorney said in court on Friday. The Rev. Robert Whipkey, 54, was excused from attending Friday’s court hearing, so he did not hear Weld County Judge Timothy Kerns rule that three previous incidents of Whipkey’s being naked when the public could see him will be evidence at his trial. “The defendant places himself in circumstances in which his nudity can be seen by others,” Kerns said. Because Whipkey was not charged in those cases,...

GREELEY — Jurors will not hear that a Catholic priest told a police officer he knew it was wrong to jog naked at Frederick High School, a Weld County judge ruled Tuesday. Representing The Rev. Robert Whipkey, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent exposure, attorney A. Lee Harrell argued that Whipkey believed he was in custody when he talked to Frederick Police Officer Donald Loveless. “I know what I did was wrong” was the statement Harrell convinced County Judge Timothy Kerns to keep out of evidence when the case goes to trial. Loveless spoke to Whipkey...

GREELEY — A Frederick priest accused of jogging naked near Frederick High School will not appear in court today as previously scheduled. The Rev. Robert Whipkey is scheduled to stand trial on March 25 and 26 on a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure. A hearing on pre-trial motions, originally set for today, has been moved to March 4. An off-duty Frederick Police officer who had just arrived home after work saw Whipkey walking nude on Fifth Street at about 4:30 a.m. June 22, police said. Whipkey was walking home after jogging at Frederick High School, according to police. The priest...

A Catholic priest who was busted for jogging naked in the town of Frederick has pleaded not guilty to indecent exposure. Father Robert Whipkey, 54, of Saint Teresa's parish, was also slapped with a mandatory restraining order against the Frederick police officer who found him naked. In addition to that, the judge also ordered him to get fingerprinted. Whipkey arrived in court without saying a word accompanied by two lawyers. It was June 22 when Whipkey was caught walking down a street naked. He told police he had been jogging around the track at Frederick high school at 4:30 in...

GREELEY — A Catholic priest accused of jogging naked before dawn will ask a jury to decide his guilt on a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure. On Tuesday afternoon, the Rev. Robert Whipkey’s attorney, Matt Giacomini, entered a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial for his client. If he is convicted, Whipkey might have to register as a sex offender. Whipkey, who was wearing a suit with an open-collared shirt, did not speak during the hearing. He and his attorneys, Giacomini and Doug Tisdale, would not comment as they left the courtroom or the courthouse. The trial is...

FREDERICK, Colo. -- A Catholic priest faces an indecent exposure charge after jogging in the nude about an hour before sunrise in a small town in Colorado. 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, 53, was arrested around 4:30 a.m. June 22.

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,...

A long, long time ago, I was the religion writer and columnist for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. It’s a fascinating city in a beautiful region (heaven, you know) and I envy people who get to work out there. The person who holds that position these days, and has for many years, is Jean Torkelson. And I must say that I do not envy her right now. Or maybe I do envy her. That’s what I cannot figure out at the moment. You ask, “Why?” At the moment, Torkelson is covering what has to be one of the strangest...

Sterling's former police chief confirmed Monday that he looked into reports in 1999 that 11-year- old boys had seen Father Robert Whipkey naked at a summer camp that year. Whipkey is the Catholic priest who was ticketed in June for allegedly jogging nude near his rectory home in Frederick. Former police chief Larry Graham said none of the parents of the boys made formal complaints to police at the time of the 1999 incident and he concluded that no crime had been committed. "I asked if there was some kind of sexual contact," said Graham, now an investigator with the...