GREELEY, Colo.—A Roman Catholic priest is facing up to 18 months in jail after being convicted of indecent exposure for jogging in the nude.
The Rev. Robert Whipkey, 54, may also be ordered to register as a sex offender. He left the courtroom with his lawyer without comment after the verdict Thursday evening.
Jurors weren’t told during the trial that Whipkey is a priest after a judge ruled his profession was irrelevant in the case.
Whipkey was arrested last June after jogging on a high school track in the early morning darkness in the small town of Frederick, about 20 miles north of Denver. He told police he didn’t think anyone would see him and that he took off his clothes because he sweats profusely when he exercising.
Whipkey is expected to be sentenced in August. He also faces a fine of up to $5,000.
Prosecutors argued that Whipkey knew he would be spotted jogging naked on the track.
“The defendant knew his actions were wrong,” prosecutor Kent Leier said.
Prosecutors also refutted Whipkey’s reason for jogging naked, saying he could have just worn shorts if the heat was bothering him.
Whipkey’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, told jurors the case was not about whether they thought his client was odd. He said Whipkey didn’t intend for anyone to see him naked.
Before the trial, Weld County District Judge Timothy Kerns ruled that prosecutors could use previous incidents in which Whipkey was spotted walking naked in his home and while swimming.
After his arrest, the Denver archdiocese placed him on leave from his assigments in Frederick and the nearby towns of Mead and Erie. The archdiocese also said after Whipkey’s arrest they had responded some “concerns of inappropriate behavior” by Whipkey more than eight years ago in Sterling but they did not disclose any more details.
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Information from: Greeley Daily Tribune,
