A Bronx woman is accusing renowned priest and EWTN favorite, Fr. George Rutler of forcible touching. Rutler was assigned to St. Michael the Archangel Church in Manhattan this June 2020. The alleged victim, Ashley Gonzalez who worked as security at the parish is calling on the NYPD to arrest the priest.
Gonzalez recorded Fr. Rutler looking at porn on his computer in front of her. She claims "He looked at me with a smile, looked away, and he put his hand inside his pants, and he was playing with himself...He aggressively threw himself on me and grabbed me sexually, aggressively, and I was fighting him off of me..."
EWTN has stopped airing his programs while the Archdiocese of New York is investigating. Fr. Rutler denies the allegations and voluntarily stepped down from his duties and is not serving as a priest.
Here is the alleged victim's text to her mom telling of the attack:
Here are screen captures of the video and a screen recording of the newscast the alleged victim provided allegedly showing Fr. Rutler looking a pornography on a church computer.
Here below is a letter being circulated around which is allegedly penned by Fr. Rutler explaining the situation and confirming the investigation. Note he confirms the accusation of touching and denies doing it but does not mention nor deny the video with him allegedly looking at pornography on a parish computer:
I will update this post as I learn more.
UPDATE December 1, 2020
After a long silence from Catholic news media, both CNA and the NCRegister are reporting the allegations. They claim that the pornography Fr. Rutler was allegedly views was homosexual in nature. The alleged victim was in his office. The incident occurred around 1 in the morning. She claims that she walked to the door to leave and Fr. Rutler slammed it breaking one of her nails. He then grabbed her breast. The alleged victim hired a private detective who helped her file the police report. The Archdiocese of New York said the district attorney is investigating. The latter declined to comment.
UPDATE December 2, 2020
More secular media outlets are starting to report on this story. The Daily Beast informs that the video taken by Gonzalez is 18 seconds and shows a bald man sitting under religious icons. Those religious icons are of Cardinal O'Connor and possibly his success, Cardinal Egan. Moreover, the Daily Beast continues in its story that the bald man is watching gay porn with hands in his pants. Manuel Gomez of Black Ops Private Investigators claims that Rutler invited the young security guard into his office between her rounds. He allowed her to sit and rest for a bit. Gomez claims that while Rutler was looking on the computer for presidential election results, Gonzalez looks at her texts and began texting her mother. When she glanced up, she noticed Rutler looking at pornography with "young men." The video entailed one man performing oral sex on the other. This is when she began to record him with her cell phone. Manuel Gomez claims that this was a "warm-up" for the assault both he and Gonzalez claim happened. The company, MG Security which Gonzalez works for offered to reassign her, however, she has refused to be reassigned. It is interesting to note that the one assisting Gonzalez with this situation -Manuel Gomez- has been a subject of suspicion in other cases. He has been accused of tampering with witnesses in a murder case. He was also arrested for choking a superintendent at a building in Queens. He was charged with criminals trespass, harassment, and strangulation. Nevertheless, his personal cases are not directly related to this accusation against Fr. Rutler.
According to the Daily Mail, the same accounts are given, but they quote an email Rutler sent to NCR stating:
‘I am not permitted by Counsel to comment except that I enjoy the confidence of my superiors and am totally innocent.
‘Until this matter is adjudicated it is prudent to avoid comment and potential libel.’
So according to the email. Rutler seems confident that his superiors believe him and that he will be exonerated. The DA and Archdiocese have not given any more statements.
Church Militant who often allows columns by Fr. Rutler and is quick to report clergy misconduct, has not published a story as of yet. Here are screenshots of their latest reports, including a column by Fr. Rutler on November 29, 2020:
We at Sacerdotus even tweeted to Church Militant to make them aware of the news, but no response:
Source:
https://brooklyn.news12.com/prestigious-nyc-priest-accused-by-bronx-woman-of-forcible-touching
UPDATED SOURCE DEC 1, 2020:
https://www.ncregister.com/news/father-george-rutler-accused-of-sexual-assault-denies-allegation?amp&__twitter_impression=true
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/father-george-rutler-accused-of-sexual-assault-denies-allegation-56964
UPDATED SOURCE DEC 2, 2020:
George Rutler, Prominent ETWN Catholic TV Priest, Accused of Sexually Assaulting NYC Female Security Guard (thedailybeast.com)
Security guard, 22, says she was sexually assaulted by prominent NYC priest Father George Rutler, 75 | Daily Mail Online
NYC priest accused of sexually assaulting security guard (radio.com)
Bronx DA accuses high-profile private eye Manuel Gomez of tampering with witnesses in gang murder case - New York Daily News (nydailynews.com)
Private eye Manuel Gomez choked NYC building super: cops - New York Daily News (nydailynews.com)
UPDATED SOURCE DEC 4, 2020:
NYC church security guard accuses priest of sexual assault (nypost.com)
Rev. George William Rutler Investigated Over Sexual Assault Accusation - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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