NFL long snapper Jake McQuaide was escorted out of an Ohio church by police after he demanded that a Catholic priest explain his alleged use of a diocese computer to view pornography.
McQuaide — who formerly played for the Vikings and the Dolphins — was at Our Lady of the Visitation in Green Township, Ohio on Saturday and demanded answers from Cincinnati Archdiocese Chancellor Jason Williams, who was addressing parishioners about allegations that priest Martin Bachman had used a church computer to watch porn.
One of the church members, Todd Zureick, claimed he saw images on a laptop containing “thumbnails to pornography sites and links to multiple virtual reality role-playing sites involving pornography, sexual assault, group sex, rape, and occult themes,” WCPO reported.
He filed a complaint with the church earlier this year, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
During the Saturday meeting at the church, Williams read a letter from Archbishop Robert Casey saying the rumors weren’t true.
“These have been investigated, and no wrongdoing — either criminally or ecclesiastically — has been substantiated … consequently, like gossip, the spreading of rumors is sinful, and we should all work to overcome this tendency of our fallen human nature,” the letter said.
McQuaide wasn’t satisfied by the letter’s blanket rejection of the claims, and stood up and made clear he wanted more information.
“Please take a second. We want to put these rumors to rest. Can you answer this for me … fact or fiction,” he said, according to WCPO.
The broadcaster reports that someone at the altar told the NFL players that it wasn’t the right time for him to push for more information, but he disagreed.
“I’m sorry, sir, this is the time and the place. I will stand up. … Did the priest use our parish computer to look at pornography?” he said. “You can look at pornography at your house, but you cannot do it here.”
Green Township police officers, who were asked to attend the Saturday meeting to keep the peace, then escorted McQuaide out of the church.
Captain Mitch Hill of the Green Township Police Department said the NFL player was not detained and has not been charged with a crime.
Hill noted that even if a priest had looked at pornography using a church computer, it’s not illegal.
“We were not provided any complaints from parishioners, but absent an aggravating factor, viewing pornography in and of itself would not be illegal or cause to launch a criminal investigation,” he told WCPO.
The priest at the center of the allegations is reportedly going to be away on a sabbatical that the Archbishop insisted was not related to the rumors.
Green Township police have said their investigation found no evidence of crimes committed by any members of the clergy.
According to WCPO, more than 700 people from the surrounding area have signed a petition demanding transparency about the issue.
