The Roman Catholic priest and former pastor of a Maumee church accused of sexually assaulting a man in a hot tub at a recreational facility in Sylvania Township confessed to police that he fondled the victim, according to testimony yesterday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
In an interview three weeks after the March 18 incident, the Rev. Frank Murd apologized for touching the 27-year-old man at the JCC/YMCA, 6465 Sylvania Ave., and assured a Sylvania Township police detective that he would tell Bishop Leonard Blair about the incident.
"I did touch him. … I want to apologize. It is inappropriate. It is wrong," the 66-year-old priest told Detective Jim Rettig in an audio recording played before Judge James Jensen, who will decide whether Father Murd is guilty of misdemeanor sexual imposition.
Judge Jensen, who concluded hearing testimony last night after a one-day bench trial in lieu of a jury, said he will issue a verdict in the case at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
The victim, who works part time and attends college, testified that he was sexually assaulted by Father Murd about 9:30 p.m. after the priest joined him in the octagonal-shaped hot tub and began fondling him.
He said he was offended by the unsolicited act that lasted less than a minute and told Father Murd the contact was inappropriate. "I felt like I had been violated," the man said.
If convicted on the third-degree misdemeanor charge, Father Murd faces a maximum sentence of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
He resigned as pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Maumee about a month after the victim reported the incident to police. His departure from the church was made known to parishioners April 10 - three days after the interview with Detective Rettig.
Father Murd, who wore a blue dress shirt instead of a clerical collar during the trial, was entered into treatment at an undisclosed residential facility for "appropriate spiritual remedies" and "professional evaluation and counseling."
The victim testified that Father Murd brushed his leg against his hand twice while they were in the hot tub before the alleged assault.
He said the priest apologized in the hot tub after the incident and told him: "I hope I didn't upset you."
County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Loisel argued to Judge Jensen that Father Murd used the locker room area at the facility as a "hunting grounds" to cruise other men for sex.
When asked by Father Murd's attorney, Tom Matuszak, why he didn't push away the priest's hand, tell him to stop fondling him, or get out of the hot tub, the victim said he was shocked and taken off guard by the incident.
"I was frozen. I was paralyzed," the victim said.
Connie Torrey-Cluff, executive director of the YMCA branch, testified that video surveillance showed that Father Murd arrived at the facility about 5:30 p.m. and never went outside the locker room area until he left at 9:30 p.m.
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The Roman Catholic priest and former pastor of a Maumee church accused of sexually assaulting a man in a hot tub at a recreational facility in Sylvania Township confessed to police that he fondled the victim, according to testimony yesterday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.