Priest Used Confessional To Extort Indecent Pics From Boys

Robert McWilliams. Image via Catholic Diocese of Cleveland

* Update *

McWilliams has received a life sentence.

BEHIND the jovial and benevolent face of Ohio Catholic priest Robert McWilliams lurks a manipulative and cunning sexual predator – one who is about to begin a lengthy jail sentence.

McWilliams is to be sentenced on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to using his church’s confessional to gain information about boys which he then used to extort sexually explicit photographs of themselves.

According to this report, last Wednesday, in a 26-page sentencing brief, prosecutors recommended that McWilliams, 41, from St Joseph Catholic Church in Strongsville, Ohio, be sentenced to life in prison for the exploitation of children.

He will be sentenced by US District Judge Sara Lioi on Tuesday.

McWilliams pleaded guilty in July to eight charges: two counts of sex trafficking of youths under 18; three counts of sexual exploitation of children; and three counts involving child pornography.

Assistant US Attorney Carol Skutnik wrote that McWilliams:

Violated the sacrament of confession to obtain information he later used, under aliases, to seek the production of sexually explicit material from boys he was ‘counseling.’

Skutnik’s filing said McWilliams gathered a large collection of videos of children engaged in various types of sexual activity, forced teenage boys to provide him with sexually explicit images and paid two other youths in exchange for sexual acts.

Skutnik called McWilliams’ case multifaceted and unprecedented and urged a term of no less than 40 years.

He was not corralled into this crime by a series of unfortunate life circumstances. Rather, his actions were deliberate and methodical, and his sentence should reflect those facts.

Robert Dixon, McWilliams’ attorney, said his client realises that he will receive a substantial prison term, but it should not be greater than necessary. In documents, he urged a sentence that will allow McWilliams to:

Secure the therapy necessary to confront demons from his childhood and the addictions and heinous behaviour of his adulthood.

Dixon did not disclose information about McWilliams’ childhood. He asked Lioi to:

Balance the needs for punishment and deterrence of others with rehabilitation and a chance for redemption.

McWilliams was ordained in 2017 and began serving at St Joseph Catholic Church. Prior to that, he had been a seminarian at St Helen’s Catholic Church in Newbury Township in Geauga County, where he became active in a teen programme.

Authorities began an investigation in October 2019, when two families from St Helen’s filed a report detailing how their sons were extorted online for sexually explicit images of themselves.

The sentencing brief said McWilliams played an active role in their sons’ lives by taking them to lunch, spending time with them and bringing them gifts.

Skutnik described McWilliams as:

Cunning, calculating and extremely cruel. Only a sociopath could accept the hospitality of a family only to disappear into another room to transmit images of a victim to his mother so he could witness the pain inflicted upon his hosts.

Last December, authorities searched McWilliams’ living quarters at St Joseph and seized various electronic devices. Officers found more than 1,000 videos of child pornography. Some of the videos were found in digital folders. Other folders contained images of McWilliams conducting religious services and posing with families.

McWilliams was arrested and placed on leave from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

Skutnik said McWilliams:

Led the quintessential double life, professing the tenets of Christianity in public while using fake identities and technology to conceal his sexual attraction to minors.

She said a forensic examination of McWilliams’ devices indicated that McWilliams met two youths through the gay dating app Grindr. They corresponded with a man they believed was named “Mike.”

One of the youths said he performed sex acts with McWilliams three times and was paid $200.

The Cleveland diocese is seeking to remove McWilliams from what the Catholic Church calls “the clerical state.”

The diocese said in a statement:

With the sentencing of Rev. Robert McWilliams scheduled to occur next week, the diocese would like to once again offer prayers for those affected by the actions of McWilliams and to express gratitude to those in law enforcement and the judicial system who have worked to ensure that justice is served and that McWilliams’ wrongdoing is justly punished.