The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
County dismisses charges against priest
Case now going through federal court system
The case against Strongsville priest Robert McWilliams is now going through federal court system.
Now that Strongsville Catholic priest Robert McWilliams is facing federal criminal charges, his case in the Geauga County Common Pleas Court has been dropped.
Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz wrote in the Feb. 26 motion to Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge David M. Ondrey that the “potential penalties for this conduct in federal court carry the potential for a life sentence, which far exceed the penalties available in state court.” Ondrey approved the motion later the same day.
Flaiz said he will be assisting with the federal prosecution upon the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
McWilliams, 39, is a former seminarian at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Newbury Township. He was arraigned in Chardon Municipal Court in early January on a second-degree felony sexual performance on a minor charge for allegedly soliciting a nude photo from a minor.
The Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office was expecting to bring more charges against the priest when they presented their case to the Geauga County grand jury. During the course of that investigation, the office allegedly uncovered evidence that McWilliams solicited child prostitutes online, according to court records.
Following that discovery, prosecutors met with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and requested that they prosecute the matter in federal court.
McWilliams is now is now facing federal charges of child pornography, child exploitation and juvenile sex trafficking.
“These charges are related to the defendant’s conduct in Geauga County,” Flaiz wrote in the dismissal motion. “Additionally, a warrant has been issued for (McWilliams). It is necessary that the charges in the instant matter be dismissed so that defendant can be transferred to federal custody.”
McWilliams has been held in the Geauga County Jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond.
“Our office is grateful on behalf of Geauga County for the assistance of the U.S. Attorney, who continues to be an outstanding partner in law enforcement,” Flaiz said in a statement.
McWilliams was first arrested Dec. 5, 2019, at St. Joseph in Strongsville after the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force raided his office and living space.
The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland placed McWilliams on administrative leave following his Dec. 5 arrest. Records from the diocese show McWilliams was ordained in May 2017.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury in January indicted McWilliams on multiple charges, including 19 counts of second-degree felony pandering sexually oriented material. A spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said they intend to seek a dismissal of their case in the coming days.
According to a Feb. 21 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, McWilliams allegedly used a social media network to make contact with a minor male victim “for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex.” He allegedly met the victim on multiple occasions, and, in exchange for sex, paid the 15-year-old approximately $100 per act.
He is also accused of being in possession, receiving or distributing child pornography, which included approximately 1,700 images and videos, according to the news release. He also allegedly had about 150 files of child pornography in a Dropbox cloud storage account.
McWilliams also allegedly pretended to be a woman on social media applications, which he used to make contact with minor male victims.
“Allegedly, certain of McWilliams’ victims were young boys McWilliams knew because he served as a priest in parishes with which these children and their families were affiliated,” the news release stated.
“Posing as the female, McWilliams allegedly enticed the minor male victims to send sexually explicit photographs and videos, sometimes threatening to expose embarrassing information McWilliams already knew about the victims if they did not send such images.”
McWilliams is alleged to have at times threatened to send those photos to family and friends if the minor victim did not send additional photos and videos. McWilliams is also alleged to have followed through on this threat by sending the mothers sexually explicit photographs he received from minor male victims, according to the new release.
Anyone with knowledge of McWilliams’ contact with children is asked to contact Homeland Security Investigations at 216-749-9602.