Father Carlos Martins cleared of misdemeanor charges after incident at Illinois parish
Ryan Bethea (left) and Father Carlos Martins (right), co-hosts of “The Exorcist Files” podcast. / Credit: The Exorcist Files
CNA Staff, Jul 30, 2025 / 13:09 pm (CNA).
The popular podcasting priest Father Carlos Martins is no longer facing criminal charges after an incident at an Illinois parish last year led to misdemeanor allegations.
The Burke Law Group said in a Wednesday press release that the priest, who hosts “The Exorcist Files” podcast, had been “fully cleared of all charges” stemming from a Nov. 21, 2024, event held at Queen of Apostles Parish in Joliet, Illinois.
Attorney Marcella Burke told CNA in November that the disputed incident occurred when Martins touched a young girl’s hair while telling a joke about his own baldness. The joke occurred publicly “in a classroom setting with teachers, clergy, parish staff, and volunteers present.”
The incident led to Will County prosecutors filing a criminal complaint against Martins in January, one that alleged that Martins went so far as to place the girl’s hair in his mouth.
On Wednesday the Burke Law Group said that prosecutors “withdrew those charges and dismissed the case” without any finding of any wrongdoing or criminal liability on the part of the priest.
Burke on Wednesday told CNA the charge carried a maximum penalty of 365 days in jail and a $2,500 fine.
In the press release the attorney said the dismissal of the charges was “exactly the result we were expecting.”
“What he was charged with was simply absurd,” Burke said. “This was a case that never should have been brought forward. The court’s ruling is a full vindication of Father Martins’ innocence from the beginning of any and all criminal wrongdoing.”
Martins, meanwhile, said in the release that he was “deeply grateful to all who offered their prayers and support during this time.”
“I am thankful for the truth coming to light and look forward to resuming my ministry and continuing to preach the Gospel,” the priest said.
Martins is a priest of the Companions of the Cross order. The order had not yet released a statement on the case by Wednesday afternoon.
Martins was visiting the Illinois parish as part of his national touring exhibit of a relic of the arm of St. Jude the Apostle via the ministry Treasures of the Church.
The priest told EWTN News in 2023 that it was “the first time the arm of the saint … [had] left Italy.”
On its website Treasures of the Church says the 16-month-long tour was attended by “almost 2 million pilgrims” while visiting numerous dioceses and locations.