Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2019 10:30:59 GMT -5
Priest found hiding in bushes outside St. Louis County woman's home charged with stalking, police say
RICHMOND HEIGHTS • A priest at a St. Louis County Catholic school was arrested Friday night after, police say, he was found hiding in the bushes outside a female co-worker’s home.
Richmond Heights police say they were called about 10:15 p.m. to a home in the 9000 block of Greenridge Drive, where a woman reported a man looking through her windows.
Officers spotted Michael McCusker, 36, hiding in the bushes, police said. Charging documents allege he ran from police, but was arrested.
Officers learned that McCusker is a priest and teacher at St. Louis Priory School in Creve Coeur, where he also lives. He goes by his religious name, the Rev. John McCusker, according to archived posts on the school’s website.
The woman who lived in the home is also a teacher at St. Louis Priory, police said. Court documents claim McCusker “has a history of inappropriate and offensive communication toward victim, who has lodged complaints with her employer.”
McCusker was charged Monday with second-degree stalking and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $500.
McCusker is a Benedictine monk at St. Louis Abbey, which neighbors St. Louis Priory, according to his author bio for a Roman Catholic magazine.
He taught theology at Priory, an all-boys Benedictine Catholic school that aims to send students to the country’s most selective colleges. The school enrolls about 400 students in grades 7-12 at an annual tuition of $24,125.
Abbot Gregory Mohrman, of St. Louis Abbey, wrote to the school community Sunday to announce the arrest.
“We are in communication and cooperation with law enforcement and continue to gather facts,” he wrote. “While we seek more information, our thoughts and prayers go immediately to the faculty member and family who have been impacted.”
Mohrman added that McCusker would immediately be removed from his roles in the school and would no longer live on campus.
McCusker’s arrest comes less than a year after another priest at St. Louis Priory, the Rev. Maximilian Toczylowski, was removed as head of the junior school after “inappropriate images” were found on a laptop computer he used, according to the school.
Creve Coeur police investigated Toczylowski following his spring 2018 removal, but prosecutors did not charge him because there was a lack of evidence, according to Creve Coeur police.
www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/priest-found-hiding-in-bushes-outside-st-louis-county-woman/article_964005c8-00b9-5e09-a3bf-e7d2c6206d66.html#utm_source=stltoday.com&utm_campaign=Morning%20Dispatch%20Newsletter&utm_medium=WhatCounts&utm_content=
School is just down the road from my University. It is a fantastic school that offers a top college entrance high school curriculum. In defense of the priest at least he wasn't preying on a child. lol This is no different than a married man being unfaithful to his wife but because he is a " priest " it makes headlines. Also why did the newspaper have to mention the tuition at the school!!!!!!!
RICHMOND HEIGHTS • A priest at a St. Louis County Catholic school was arrested Friday night after, police say, he was found hiding in the bushes outside a female co-worker’s home.
Richmond Heights police say they were called about 10:15 p.m. to a home in the 9000 block of Greenridge Drive, where a woman reported a man looking through her windows.
Officers spotted Michael McCusker, 36, hiding in the bushes, police said. Charging documents allege he ran from police, but was arrested.
Officers learned that McCusker is a priest and teacher at St. Louis Priory School in Creve Coeur, where he also lives. He goes by his religious name, the Rev. John McCusker, according to archived posts on the school’s website.
The woman who lived in the home is also a teacher at St. Louis Priory, police said. Court documents claim McCusker “has a history of inappropriate and offensive communication toward victim, who has lodged complaints with her employer.”
McCusker was charged Monday with second-degree stalking and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $500.
McCusker is a Benedictine monk at St. Louis Abbey, which neighbors St. Louis Priory, according to his author bio for a Roman Catholic magazine.
He taught theology at Priory, an all-boys Benedictine Catholic school that aims to send students to the country’s most selective colleges. The school enrolls about 400 students in grades 7-12 at an annual tuition of $24,125.
Abbot Gregory Mohrman, of St. Louis Abbey, wrote to the school community Sunday to announce the arrest.
“We are in communication and cooperation with law enforcement and continue to gather facts,” he wrote. “While we seek more information, our thoughts and prayers go immediately to the faculty member and family who have been impacted.”
Mohrman added that McCusker would immediately be removed from his roles in the school and would no longer live on campus.
McCusker’s arrest comes less than a year after another priest at St. Louis Priory, the Rev. Maximilian Toczylowski, was removed as head of the junior school after “inappropriate images” were found on a laptop computer he used, according to the school.
Creve Coeur police investigated Toczylowski following his spring 2018 removal, but prosecutors did not charge him because there was a lack of evidence, according to Creve Coeur police.
www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/priest-found-hiding-in-bushes-outside-st-louis-county-woman/article_964005c8-00b9-5e09-a3bf-e7d2c6206d66.html#utm_source=stltoday.com&utm_campaign=Morning%20Dispatch%20Newsletter&utm_medium=WhatCounts&utm_content=
School is just down the road from my University. It is a fantastic school that offers a top college entrance high school curriculum. In defense of the priest at least he wasn't preying on a child. lol This is no different than a married man being unfaithful to his wife but because he is a " priest " it makes headlines. Also why did the newspaper have to mention the tuition at the school!!!!!!!
