Aug 9, 2007 1:47 pm US/Mountain
Priest Put On Administrative Leave After Naked Run
Parishes In Frederick, Mead, Erie Informed Wednesday Night
by Shaun Boyd
FREDERICK, Colo. (AP) ―
A Catholic priest facing an indecent exposure charge after police said he went jogging in the nude about an hour before sunrise was placed on administrative leave Thursday.
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.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of Denver said Whipkey previously was investigated for "inappropriate personal behavior" more than eight years ago when he was the pastor of St. Anthony's Parish in Sterling. Details were not released.
"Father Whipkey's conduct eight years ago did not involve any physical or sexual contact with another individual," the archdiocese said in a statement, adding the behavior was reported to authorities.
No charges were filed and Whipkey entered therapy. No other complaints from parishioners had been filed since, the archdiocese said.
Whipkey's leave from his assignments in Frederick, Mead and Erie, was indefinite.
Whipkey told officers he sweats profusely if he wears clothing while jogging. "I know what I did was wrong," he said in the report.
His attorney, Doug Tisdale, did not return a message left after business hours. A phone number for Whipkey could not be found in Frederick.
Whipkey, 53, was arrested June 22 in this small town about 20 miles north of Denver. An officer said he saw a naked man walking down the street at 4:35 a.m. The U.S. Naval Observatory Web site said sunrise that day in Frederick was 5:31 a.m.
If convicted of indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, he would have to register as a sex offender, prosecutors said.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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