Fr. Carlos Martins, a Canadian priest, exorcist and co-host of The Exorcist Files podcast, pleaded not guilty Jan. 27 in an Illinois court to a misdemeanor charge of battery over an alleged incident that took place during a national relic tour.

The Will County state's attorney's office filed the charge Jan. 23 after Joliet, Illinois, police investigated an alleged incident that involved students. It was reported by priests at a local parish Martins was visiting in November while touring the country with a relic of St. Jude.

The criminal charge obtained by OSV News and filed by the state's attorney's office accuses the priest of "knowingly without legal justification by any means made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with I.K., a minor, in that said defendant placed the hair of I.K. in his mouth."

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The charge is a class A misdemeanor in the state of Illinois and could result in up to one year in prison. According to the Illinois State Police Offense Code Index as of 2020, battery holds a fine of $100.

In a release sent by Martins' attorney Marcella Burke to OSV News, her law firm reiterated that "the charges are egregious and unfounded." The Houston-based Burke Law Group in its statement said, "The evidence will show that Fr. Carlos did not batter anyone. He did not put anyone's hair in his mouth, let alone 'floss' with a student's hair or 'growl' among other completely false and repulsive accusations — this remains a takedown of a good priest and an attempted shakedown of the Church."

Martins, of the Companions of the Cross order based in Ottawa, was temporarily relieved of pastoral duties when the investigation started Nov. 25. And the tour of the relics of St. Jude under the "Treasures of the Church" ministry directed by Martins and endorsed by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican was ended.

The Joliet Police Department's public information officer, Sgt. Dwayne English, sent a statement Jan. 28 to OSV News confirming Martins was "processed and released" all on the previous day.

The police sergeant's statement confirmed that, in the police investigation, "it was learned that a priest had allegedly approached a 13-year-old female standing in line to view the relic of St. Jude and asked her about her hair. It was determined that at this point, it is suspected the priest proceeded to grab the victim's hair and made a flossing motion with her hair in his mouth. It was reported to officers that after the victim had sat down, the priest sat behind her and made a growling noise."

The Joliet Police statement further identified Martins as the priest in the incident.

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“Fr. Martins remains entitled to due process, as is any accused, and is innocent unless and until proven guilty after a process," Burke Law said in its statement. "His voluntary and temporary withdrawal from ministry is not to be seen as an admission of guilt but is standard practice today for Catholic clergy. It is important to stress that Fr. Martins maintains his innocence of the charges."

On Nov. 21, priests at Queen of the Apostles Parish reported to police an "incident with the priest and some students (that) was reported to have happened in our church." The parish leaders wrote that the decisions and actions they took were "in accordance with our Diocesan Safe Environment Policies and our Standards of Behavior" and the incident was "also immediately reported to Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet, who supported our decision to cancel the remainder of the event and on the evening of Nov. 21."

According to a Nov. 25 letter from Burke Law describing its version of events around the Nov. 21 incident, around 200 students were present when Martins, who tends to make jokes about his own baldness as a conversation starter, commented to one of the older students with long hair that they both had "almost the same hairstyle," which drew laughs.

"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. She giggled along with the others.

"He was building rapport with the students. The student came home and told her father the story," Burke explained in the letter. The father "apparently, became infuriated by what he heard," called police who went to the relic veneration event and spoke with students, and left without further action.

The parent asked police to return, she said, and "insisted" they "charge Fr. Martin with battery, that the police agreed to further investigate."

On Jan. 24, the Companions of the Cross, posted a statement about the misdemeanor charge. They said Martins "remains entitled to due process, as is any accused."

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"The Companions of the Cross look upon allegations of misconduct as an urgent matter that requires serious attention," said the Companions' statement. "We pray for all those who are affected by this painful situation."

A pretrial hearing has been set for Feb. 24.