Exorcist Charged With Battery Strongly Rejects Charge
An exorcist priest is being charged with battery. He is strongly rejecting the charges.
On Jan. 22, the Will County State Attorney General’s office formally charged Fr. Carlos Martins with Class A battery, a misdemeanor that carries a $100 fine.
The complaint states that "defendant knowingly without legal justification by any means made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with I.K., a minor, in that said defendant placed the hair of I.K. in his mouth."
Marcella Burke, attorney for Fr. Martins, issued an official response to Stella Maris Media:
“These charges are egregious and unfounded. The evidence will show that Fr. Carlos did not ‘floss’ with a student’s hair or ‘growl’ among other completely false and repulsive accusations — this is a takedown of a good priest and an attempted shakedown of the Church. We are confident in the legal process and look forward to our client being fully exonerated. We will continue to vigorously defend his rights and reputation.”
The flossing and growling refer to witness statements made during police interviews in November, when Fr. Martins visited Queen of Apostles parish in Joliet, Illinois during his tour of the relic of St. Jude.
Martins is a member of the religious order Companions of the Cross. He is head of the nonprofit organization Treasures of the Church, and has been conducting a nationwide tour of the relic of the arm of St. Jude. He also conducts an exorcism ministry in dioceses where bishops have invited him in to help with cases.
He is producer and co-host of the popular podcast series The Exorcist Files, and author of a book of the same name. His book has been endorsed by Cdl. Raymond Burke, Abp. Alexander Sample, Bp. David Ricken, numerous theologians, professors, psychologists and others.
One male student told police that while he and his friends were waiting in line to see the relic, Fr. Martins was touching people “without their consent,” then “came up to him and his friends and started to make jokes about him having hair.”
He then allegedly “grabbed [name redacted] hair and put [name redacted] hair in his mouth,” the student adding that they were “laughing about it because they thought it was weird.”
Two other students made similar observations about the joking and the hair.
According to a friend of the girl whose hair was touched, after they went to sit in a pew, Fr. Martins “sat down behind them and began to make growling noises.” This friend “felt that the encounter was weird.”
The report notes that “there were no other witnesses to the incident.”
Stella Maris Media reported on this matter on Nov. 25, 2024. Father Martins’ ministry was halted after a priest of the Joliet diocese reported an “incident” that took place at Queen of Apostles Parish on Nov. 21.
The statement, written by Fr. Michael Lane, pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, gave scant information on the “incident,” only noting that it took place with “some students” in church, that police were called and that an investigation was ongoing. He also referenced the diocesan Child Safety protocols and noted that all children were “safe.”
The lack of information, followed by reporting by Catholic media organization The Pillar, which claimed Fr. Martins was accused of “inappropriate conduct involving children” (later inserting the word “allegedly” before the phrase), led to an explosion of online commentary speculating that Fr. Martins had sexually abused a minor.
Father Martins’ attorney, Marcella Burke, of the Houston-based Burke Law Group, sent a demand letter to the Pillar on November 25, first published by Stella Maris Media, accusing the news organization of publishing a “defamatory and entirely irresponsible” article about Fr. Martins “insinuating he engaged in sexual crimes with children at the parish.”
The letter criticized the Catholic media outfit for its “salacious headline accusing Fr. Martins of ‘alleged inappropriate conduct involving children,’” going on to note, “The Pillar insinuates that the children were alone with Fr. Martins when the truth was that all interactions with children took place in a classroom setting with teachers, clergy, parish staff, and volunteers present.”
The letter clarified that more than 200 students, parents and teachers attended the event where the “incident” took place, which involved a joke about Fr. Martins’ baldness. He joked with a seventh-grade student nearby, holding up a strand of her hair briefly and comparing it to his baldness. The room, including the student, responded with laughter.
When she later recounted the event to her father at home, he became “infuriated” and called the police. According to Fr. Lane’s statement, he also called the police, who launched an investigation, determining no crime had been committed.
After the Pillar published its article and public uproar ensued, the father reportedly called police again, insisting on charging Fr. Martins with battery. The police then re-opened the investigation.
Because the case had gained public notoriety, the Joliet Police Department decided to refer the matter to the Will County State Attorney General in December.
According to Herald News, Public Information Officer Sgt. Dwayne English said, “An investigation of the incident was completed by detectives and submitted to the Will County State’s Attorney Office for their review. Following this review, they approved a charge of one count of misdemeanor battery. No arrests have been made in this incident.”
The Companions of the Cross website included a note on the charge, clarifying, “After this allegation was received Fr Martins agreed to withdraw from his pastoral ministry. He remains entitled to due process, as is any accused.”
