Background: Queen of Apostles Catholic Church in Joliet, Ill. (Google Maps). Inset: Carlos Martins (Joliet Police Department).
A Catholic priest from Michigan was charged with battery after he was accused by police of “flossing” his teeth with a teenage girl’s hair.
The incident in question took place in November in Joliet, Illinois, during a presentation at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church by Carlos Martins, aged 50. Martins was showcasing relics of St. Jude as part of his tour. Teenage students in attendance alleged to Joliet police that Martins was seen pretending to use one girl’s hair to “floss” his teeth. Additionally, the same girl informed her father that Martins sat behind her and emitted a growling sound. Martins, through his legal representative, refuted these claims.
Martins, recognized for his involvement in exorcisms and as the host of The Exorcist Files podcast, faced formal charges on Jan. 22 after an inquiry into the incident on Nov. 21. He was released and instructed to appear in Joliet court on Feb. 24.
His lawyer, Marcella Burke, explained that Martins was aiming to establish a connection with the students by sharing humor. In a letter spanning three pages sent to Catholic news platform The Pillar, obtained by Stella Maris Media – an independent source focusing on wrongdoing in the Catholic Church – Burke stated that Martins often jokes about his baldness as a way to initiate conversations.
Part of Martins’ joke turned some attention to a 13-year-old girl with long hair. Burke wrote:
During his conversation with the older students, he made a comment to a student about her long hair, remarking, ‘You and I have almost the same hair style,’ a comment met with giggles. He then remarked that he also once had long hair like hers, and he joked he would ‘floss my teeth with it.’ Again, his comment was met with laughter. He then asked the student, ‘Have you ever flossed with your hair?’ Laughing, she shook her head, no. He then said, ‘Well, you have the perfect length for it,’ as he lifted up a lock from her shoulders to show her its length.”
The criminal complaint stated that Martins allegedly “made physical contact” with the girl “and placed the hair of [the girl] in his mouth.” Another student, a friend of the girl who made the hair accusation, reportedly told police during her interview that Martins “sat down behind them and began to make growling noises.” The police report noted that there were no other witnesses to this alleged behavior.
When the girl told her father about the exchange, he reportedly became “infuriated,” according to Burke, and called the police, who arrived during another part of the relic tour and questioned students about what they saw. No arrests were made following those interviews. That was apparently not enough for the girl’s father, who called police again and insisted that Martins be charged with battery.
The public case against Martins was further compounded when The Pillar covered the story at the time as “alleged inappropriate conduct involving children,” which led social media users to believe that Martins had done something sexually inappropriate. Stella Maris Media confirmed with the Joliet diocese that the alleged incident was not sexual in nature. Burke threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against The Pillar if it didn’t retract its story or issue a correction. Stella Maris Media, an independent outlet that covers corruption in the Catholic Church, noted that the word “alleged” was added to its post later.
The Joliet Police Department turned the case over to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, which ultimately approved a misdemeanor charge of battery against Martins. The penalty is a $100 fine. Martins, through Burke, vowed to fight the “egregious and unfounded charges.”
His status as a priest, however, was revoked by the Archdiocese of Detroit.
