A Roman Catholic priest has been publicly accused of having an affair with a 17-year-old stripper and paying her piles of hush money to remain silent about it
A Roman Catholic priest has been publicly accused of having an affair with a 17-year-old stripper and paying her piles of hush money to remain silent about it.
The teenager, now 33, alleged that she first met the priest when dancing at a strip club in Birmingham he was a regular at. Heather Jones, the accuser, exposed their “private companionship” in a letter to his superiors – Diocese of Birmingham – and shared it with the Guardian.
Robert Sullivan, 61, is under investigation and is on leave from his pastoral role in Alabama, USA.
Mrs Jones alleged that he paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep it secret, and has supported her claim with bank records, an email and a copy of a legal agreement.
Mr Sullivan offered her $273,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for “an ongoing relationship that would include financial support in exchange for private companionship,” Jones alleged, telling the Guardian that the agreement included sex.
She was raised in foster care due to her mother’s “severe neglect”.
She lacked “consistent adult support” during her upbringing, leaving struggling to hold down a job or pursue a formal education – so she tried to make ends meet by working at a strip club.
As a teenager, she “was a minor with no experience navigating adult relationships”.
The priest initially posed as a doctor and got her attention by tipping her generously, then gave her his phone number, offering to “help change [her] life,” it is alleged.
He took her on shopping trips and to restaurants and hotels and gave her a mobile phone and paid for her to go to rehab when she suffered addiction, depression and emotional instability, it is claimed.
Mrs Jones recalled Mr Sullivan telling her he was happy to give her money because Jesus Christ loved her.
She said her reason for outing him publicly is because he works closely with children and teens in the church, and “others may be vulnerable to the same type of manipulation and exploitation” she says she endured.
“Behind closed doors, his behaviour toward me was not in alignment with the values he teaches”.
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