Posted on 05/30/2008 9:30:51 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
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, the judge had to decide if they were relevant to this case and if they would prejudice the jury against Whipkey.
On Thursday, the district court ruled that Whipkey’s statement to a police officer — “I know what I did was wrong” — after he was discovered jogging naked near Frederick High School at 4:30 a.m. on June 22 could be used against him in court. In March, Kerns ruled the statement was not admissible at trial, but prosecutors successfully appealed to the district court.
“The status (of the case) has changed significantly,” defense attorney A. Lee Harrell said. The priest, who was ordained in 1983, served parishes in Frederick, Mead and Erie until news of his June arrest became public in August. The Archdiocese of Denver then placed him on administrative leave.
In addition to Whipkey’s statement to the police officer, jurors will hear that, for three years, the priest often walked naked around his house when people outside the home could see him. This wasn’t a case of just rushing past a window while getting dressed, apparently, as one nearby resident said she saw him hanging pictures inside his house while he was undressed, the judge said.
Jurors also could hear that at a retreat in 2000, the priest was not dressed when he awoke a cabin of boys, according to prosecution’s motion to introduce the evidence at trial. According to previous news reports, Whipkey was assigned to a church in Sterling at the time, but it’s not clear where the retreat took place.
Kerns also decided that reports of Whipkey’s walking naked to a lake for an early morning swim can be used at trial, even though that occurred 20 years ago.
The number of incidents in which people have reported seeing Whipkey naked, as well as the time between the incidents, show that Whipkey was likely to know that jogging naked would alarm a member of the public and that doing so was not a simple mistake, Kerns said.
After these incidents, the priest has repeatedly expressed shock that other people would be concerned by seeing him naked, Kerns said.
Harrell said he is ready for trial, scheduled for June 12, but the rulings against his client make a plea agreement possible. He and two prosecutors left the courtroom and spent several minutes in a private conference room after the hearing.
I guess they found it disturbing to see his Whipkey whipping around.
- 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
- 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]
“the naked jogging priest”
There’s a joke in there somewhere I just know it.
Was Whipkey born in Missouri?
I guess he really believed in the “naked truth”!
I heard when he was born he was half bear and half deer...
he was born “bare” and was very “dear” to his parents!
He wasn’t really trying to run naked, he was just caught fiddling with his personal rosary beads.
With a name like “whipkey”, sometimes the jokes can write themselves!
Read about Pflager this morning and now this Whipkey tonight. Add this to the endless stream of priest stories for several years now and I have to wonder about the recruitment criteria and philosophy involved in filling those jobs.
why?
seriously. why?
Has Hannity found an Obama connection with this guy yet?
A priest's profession will not be referenced in his indecent exposure trial next month.Rev. Robert Whipkey, 53, who is charged with indecent exposure for jogging naked in June 2007 in Frederick, according to police. Police said he was jogging naked in the early morning hours down a Frederick street. He told police that wearing clothes while he ran made him sweat profusely.
Friday in court, Whipkey's appearance was waived for his pre-trial readiness conference, in which Weld District Judge Timothy Kerns approved a motion to exclude any reference to Whipkey's profession as a priest during the trial because it has no bearing on the charge.
In addition, Kerns granted a motion allowing prior incidents, including allegations that Whipkey has been seen walking around his home nude, swimming in a lake naked and woke children up at a retreat naked, to be admitted in the trial.
Kerns also denied a motion regarding a suspected incident involving Whipkey opening a shower curtain at the retreat, and reserved judgment on an alleged incident involving Whipkey urinating in front of children based on more information.
Kerns said the pattern, and Whipkey's incredulous response in the past warranted his decision.
The two day trial is set to begin June 11 in Weld District Court.
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