A former priest and two professional dominatrices accused of performing sexual acts on the altar of a Catholic Church in Louisiana were charged with one count of institutional vandalism, a felony.
Travis John Clark, 37, who was pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Pearl River at the time, was arrested in October after he was caught indulging in a threesome with two dominatrices: Mindy Lynn Dixon, 41, and Melissa Kamon Cheng, 28.
Alter Had to be Cleansed Following Sinful Act
They were originally charged with obscenity. Among the charge's definitions in Louisiana law are having sex in any "place open to the public view." However, an attorney representing Dixon and Cheng argued that his clients' conduct was both private and legal because it did not take place in public.
According to the prosecutors, the throuple caused between $50 and $50,000 worth of damage to the church during their romp. A ritual was later performed to cleanse the church of sin and the alter where the "deplorable" act took place was burned and replaced by New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond in a consecration ceremony in October.
Aymond said, in a sermon at the service, that Clark's behavior was a sinful violation of his vows. "His behavior was obscene. The desecration of this church and the altar is demonic — demonic...he was using that which was holy to do demonic things."
The trio is slated to begin their trial next week, and if convicted of the felony charge they could be sentenced to up to two years in prison and a fine of not more than $1,000 or both.
Threesome Witnessed by a Passerby
The three were seen engaging in sexual acts by a passerby who noticed lights on in the church, according to court records, and saw a half-naked Clark having sex on the alter with the two corset-clad women, as previously reported.
The eyewitness said the women were wearing high-heeled boots, a phone was recording the sinful act on a tripod, and stage lights had been set up inside the church and several sex toys scattered around. One of the women who works as a dominatrix posted on social media hours before the incident that she was on her way to "defile a house of god."
