A priest from the Church of St. Michael in midtown Manhattan is accused of sexually assaulting a female security guard after she caught him watching gay porn, the National Catholic Reporter reports.
The news is riling parishioners and associates of Fr. George Rutler, who know him to be an ultra-conservative who has railed against "sodomites."
"I strongly deny this allegation, which I maintain is incoherent and painful to my reputation and inconsistent with how I have conducted myself in fifty years of ministerial service without any accusation of misbehavior," he wrote in a letter addressed to parishioners.
According to 22-year-old security guard Ashley Gonzalez, Rutler "aggressively threw himself on me and grabbed me sexually, aggressively, and I was fighting him off of me."
The attack allegedly happened after Gonzalez walked in on him while he was watching the video. In an interview with News12, Gonzalez said Rutler was "like a monster," adding that she texted her mother after the attack and told her she didn't feel safe.
In a police report, Gonzalez said Rutler trapped her in his office by slamming the door, grabbing her before she managed to escape. Cellphone footage Gonzalez reportedly took of the incident had been handed over to the police and sent to the New York Archdiocese and the Holy See. According to archdiocese communications director Joe Zwilling, "Father Rutler's case is currently in the hands of the District Attorney."
Rutler has been a priest at the Church of St. Michael since 2013.