‘Growling’ priest pretended to floss with girl’s hair, Illinois cops say. He’s charged

A traveling priest has been charged two months after accusations he grabbed a girl’s hair and pretended to floss with it, according to Illinois authorities.

Father Carlos Martins, a member of the religious order Companions of the Cross, faces a misdemeanor charge of battery following the November incident in Will County, court records show.

The allegations are “false,” his attorney said in a statement, adding that she expects the priest to be “fully exonerated.”

Martins, according to the Catholic News Agency, was in Joliet for a “national touring exhibit of a relic of the arm of St. Jude the Apostle.”

While the priest was at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Nov. 21, Joliet police said he approached a girl waiting to view the relic, WFLD reported.

“Martins reportedly asked about her hair before grabbing it and making a flossing motion with her hair in his mouth,” according to the news outlet, citing police.

Then, the priest is accused of sitting behind the girl and making “a growling noise,” WJOL reported.

Officers were “immediately contacted” by Queen of Apostles officials, the church said in a November statement. Martins was ordered by the church to “depart from our parish and out of our Diocese.”

Martins, who maintained his innocence through his attorney, was charged Jan. 22, according to the court records. If convicted, Martins faces a up to a year in jail, according to Shaw Local.

Marcella Burke of Burke Law Group, which is representing Martins, called the charges “egregious and unfounded.”

“The evidence will show that Fr. Carlos did not batter anyone,” the law group said. “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.”

Burke referred to Martins as a “beloved and respected member” of the church, saying any actions with the young students were meant to build rapport.

She said Martins — who is bald — joked with the girl who had long hair, commenting, “you and I almost have the same hair style.” He also jokingly asked the girl if she flossed with her hair “as he lifted up a lock from her shoulders to show its length,” according to the attorney.

The Diocese of Joliet, however, called the attorney’s narrative “incomplete,” Shaw Local reported.

Companions of the Cross said Martins withdrew from the ministry after the allegations were made. The church said it is praying for victims of “this painful situation.”

Joliet is about a 45-mile drive southwest from Chicago.